


The Infinity League

by Shaydrall



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Epic, F/M, Romance, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-16
Updated: 2013-09-24
Packaged: 2017-12-26 17:21:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/968504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaydrall/pseuds/Shaydrall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years past, a crushing defeat made Ash vanish from the world of Pokemon. Now, at the advent of the I-R Pokemon Tournament he returns, a new person. The Hunters have a new leader, people with god-like powers are appearing, and there are even whispers of a civil war. An epic story filled with so much conflict that there is really only one absolute truth. Nothing is as it seems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What They All Shared

**Well now, hello and welcome to my Pokemon fic, The Infinity League. This Pokemon (which I don't own, disclaimer etc) fic is largely Ash-centric with some forays into fairly unexplored parts of the canon that I just go AU with wildly, drawing my own connections and such like any fanfic author enjoys to do. You should know that this follows the canon up until about where Ash gets his 8th badge in Sinnoh. After that I think I've only taken from a couple episodes as fact as well. It assumes him to be mid 15 years old by the time he is finishing said region as well. Other than that everything you see here is AU. As I say in all my other fics, just take things as they come and have fun. I think I've got something quality here, but I'll let you read and decide that for yourself. I do hope you enjoy this as much as I have been writing it.**

**Two notes for you. The fic is a bit of a slow start for the plot, but I promise you that it picks up well. Secondly, nothing is as it seems. Nothing.**

XxxxX

Clouds covered the sky. A lone girl lay back on the gentle slope of a large grassy hill; her left hand rested at her side and her right on her chest. The girl ran her finger over the smooth stone on her necklace slowly as if in a trance. The stretch of fluffy white in every direction was reflected in eyes that were seemingly staring a million miles away.

'…where are you…'

The sound of footsteps in the grass brought the girl back to reality. She listened to them getting louder and closer. It was obvious that the person was walking directly at her, but the girl remained where she was. It was not as if she was in any danger to begin with. One of her Pokemon was out of its pokeball and was keeping watch for her just in case anything came up. The fact that the person wasn't being stopped could only mean that it was someone she knew. In any case, there was only one person she knew who could possibly find her here...

"I've finally found you, girl," said the approaching man. He stopped about a foot behind her head but otherwise the girl remained completely ignorant to his presence. She could tell from the tone of his voice that he was slightly out of breath from walking but in no way upset. She couldn't truthfully say that she had ever seen this man not in a good mood, despite the current situation.

Looking up at the man's face she said, "And what could the owner and manager of the prestigious Battle Frontier, as well as one of the most important organization officials of Pokemon tournaments and all that good stuff, want with simple me?"

"And all that good stuff..."

Putting an exasperated hand to his forehead Scott gave a hearty chuckle saying, "Every time I see you, you sound more and more like Ash, you know that? Out of all the people you could have rub off on you, you've picked one of the worst." Walking around to her side he held out a hand which the girl took, standing up.

"I knew I would end up running into you at some point, Scott," the girl said, bowing her head slightly in greeting. She brushed off the grass clinging to her then said, "He sent you, didn't he? Sometime I honestly wonder why I still hang around him, he's so irresponsible." She paused then giggled, "I'm just kidding. Anyway, how did you end up finding me? I thought I had finally found a place that nobody on the island even knew about. At least I've never seen anyone out this way before."

"Well Ash did say that if I had no idea where you were to look in a place like this," he explained. "Though it was a lot easier with your friend here." Scott simply pointed down at his feet and looking down she saw her Glaceon sitting there quietly. 'So that's where you went off to…' the girl thought. Scott continued to talk as the girl picked up her Glaceon, petting the back of her neck. "You're right about that. He asked me to find you and look after you for a little while until he was able to join us."

"Does that mean he's on the island? Now?" asked the girl anxiously. Scott nodded. "Well then let's go find him!" she said, already starting to walk back to the city.

"Wait up a sec!" Scott called out. Catching up to her, he said, "Follow me. Unlike you I don't have limitless energy so I have a jeep I borrowed from the PTO parked nearby. Let's take that shall we?" Nodding, the girl followed Scott to his vehicle shooting him with questions about random things that he did for his many jobs. Scott wasn't fooled by her sudden lack of interest in Ash's whereabouts, but he didn't want to push her to talk about it. He knew she would bring it back up when she wanted to.

It was only after a minute of silent driving down the windy road that led to the outskirts of the city that she said coolly, "So the fact that he didn't come with you now means he had something immensely important to take care of before seeing me for the first time in over a month." Scott smiled to himself. She was so worked up over nothing in such a way that only a young woman could be. His worries that it might be something serious dispelled, he said cheerfully,

"He's just registering for the tournament. Though the deadline was officially almost a week ago, I called in early for him because he told me there was no way for him to get there in time due to work. I called the officials and had them make an exception for him. They gave him an extra week past the official deadline to show up and he did earlier today." Scott glanced at the girl to see her giving him a puzzling look. "What?" he said defensively.

"I was just curious…" the girl responded slowly as if she was constructing her statement carefully. "Why do you go so far for him, and me for that matter? I'm just saying, well, considering who you are and who he is it just doesn't make much sense that you help him out so much." She finished and fixed Scott with a beady stare determined for an answer. Scott however, laughed, surprising the girl.

"Is that it?" he said amused. "Well let's just say I owe Ash more than I can ever pay back in the way of favors. He's helped me out more times than I can count, going all the way back to the first day I met him practically. In any case, he knows what my position is like and he rarely asks me for anything so I try to help him out whenever I can." Scott brought the jeep to a stop. They had arrived at spot that overlooked the city.

"I stop at this place every day, you know?" said the girl. The view was spectacular. From where they were standing they could see the entire scope of the island's main city, Element City. It was the largest city she had ever been in her entire life. At least a thousand times the size of her own home village to be sure. Sunlight suddenly broke through the cloud cover, spilling down onto the city in various places. At the center of the city were a great number of enormous stadiums that all together were large enough to be their own city. The stadiums drew both watchers' eyes as the sunlight framed them against the rest of the view.

The sound of clicking brought the girl back to reality. Turning she saw Scott taking pictures of the scene. Laughing, she said, "Taking pictures just like a tourist, you know you totally just killed the mood."

Turning, Scott quickly snapped a shot before saying, "It's true, I am a tourist at heart." They got back in the jeep. Turning it on Scott continued, "It's more fun that way though, don't you think?"

The girl looked at Scott and smiled saying, "Yeah, I guess you're right. So where are we going? Now that I think about it I never asked you."

"Well, there are a lot of people that Ash wants you to meet. They are all good friends and are going to have a reunion at one of the Pokemon Centers on the edge of town. We are heading there now. Shouldn't be more than another thirty minutes or so till we get there." Scott took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air of the mountainside. "Don't worry," he added suddenly, "he's going to come to us so there's no doubt that you'll meet up later today. Today is going to be a great day. Trust me when I say that."

The girl smiled at Scott's words then said, "Well if that's the case then can we make a quick stop at my apartment? I'd like to change into something without grass stains."

Scott laughed loudly saying, "God, why didn't I think of that? Point the way, my girl, point the way." And they zoomed off into the city.

**\- Five years earlier at the Sinnoh League Championship Conference -**

"Dammit!"

Ash slammed his fist onto the table causing the salt and pepper shakers to fall over. "Dammit, how can this be happening?" He raised his fist again but a hand grabbed his wrist in the air.

"Ash! Calm down! I know you're upset but... you're scaring everyone." Brock's words brought Ash back from his anger. Looking around he saw that Dawn and her Piplup were semi-hiding behind Dawn's mother, Johanna. She had been with them since the start of the competition. Originally, Johanna had surprised them when they happened to bump into her in a Pokemon Center near where the competition was to take place. They later found out, however, that the meeting was not so coincidental because Johanna had planned a half year trip to the Hoenn Region for herself and her daughter. Johanna's Pokemon Contest contacts ran deep in that region as well and her daughter, as a budding coordinator, would benefit immensely from the exposure. After all, nothing could replace pure first hand experience. Still, Dawn had convinced her mother to wait until after the competition so that she could support Ash. They had traveled together for so long that now the only person that she had ever been in the company of longer than Ash and Brock was her own mother. Looking at Dawn's distressed face, Ash felt all the fight go out of him.

Eyes locked on his feet Ash said, "I'm sorry... Dawn... everyone." Taking a deep breath he raised his head and faced them. "You postponed your trip to support me and all I can think about is myself." Ash got up and walked to the door. "Sorry guys but I really need some air," he said, opening the door. "And... thanks for cheering for me."

The door shut quietly behind him. The room collectively relaxed with Ash's departure.

"So..." began Johanna, "will he be alright, Brock?"

Brock sat down in Ash's now vacant seat and faced the others. "To be honest I really don't know," he said with a frown. "I've known Ash almost since the day he first got Pikachu and he's never experienced anything like this before. If I had to choose a side, I'd say that Ash will recover from this after some time." He looked down into his hands. "Though, as to how long that is, I have no idea. It's not that he's a stranger to losing but he's never had so much riding on him before."

Dawn hugged her Piplup tightly against her chest. "I'm sure he'll be alright after a while. Ash is a strong person. He's always pulled through the rough times we've been through before," she said, though with a noticeable forced enthusiasm. Piplup voiced his own agreement through her arms.

"Well I certainly hope so," said her mother. She turned to her daughter. "Sweetie, I don't mean to cut things short for you but now that Ash isn't competing we really should be going." Dawn looked at her in alarm.

"But Mom, what about Ash, we can't just leave him!"

"I'm not suggesting anything of the sort, Dawn," she said patiently. "But we can actually still make our original travel plans work out now that we aren't going to be staying here until the finals. We need to leave tonight though." Dawn frowned but said nothing. She knew her mom wouldn't suggest this if it weren't important. Considering the length of their trip she had really put a lot of effort into the planning. She didn't want to cause problems. After all, it was all for her to begin with. Nodding at her daughter's acceptance, Johanna turned to Brock and held out her hand. "Brock, thank you so much for looking after my daughter. I'm really happy that she had you and Ash with her as traveling companions. She's grown a lot from it as a person," she grinned a bit, "and as a young lady as well I think."

"Mom!" said Dawn, waving her arms in embarrassment. Piplup went tumbling away with a chirp. Brock laughed and shook the offered hand.

"I think I can speak for myself and Ash in saying that we are really glad to have traveled with you Dawn. And we both wish you well," said Brock. Dawn, still red, gave Brock a hug then went to grab her bag. Brock saw them to the door saying, "Do you think you can hang around for a bit while I go grab Ash? I know he'll regret walking out earlier." Surprisingly it was Dawn who shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, Brock. He needs a bit of time to himself and..." Dawn took a deep breath, "I've been dreading saying goodbye to him anyway because I know I'll cry. I don't like goodbyes." Indeed she was already looking a little misty eyed. Brock just patted her shoulder before giving her a hug.

"Then instead of goodbye, it's I'll see you soon," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, see you soon Brock. Take care."

XxxxX

"Huu. Almost nine."

Ash leaned against an unlit lamppost outside the hotel he had been staying at during the competition. After leaving the room he had just let his feet carry him wherever and found himself in a garden on the side of the hotel. It really was a beautiful place, as it had a side view of the stadium. However, at this moment Ash would have liked nothing more than to be completely removed from the world of Pokemon battles and be back in his bed at home. He looked up at the darkening sky. When was the last time he had slept in his own bed? For that matter, when was the last time he had even gone home for a visit?

Feeling restless he automatically moved his hands to his belt which was void of pokeballs. It took him a moment to remember that he had left them back in the hotel room. Well, it was better this way. His Pokemon didn't need to see their trainer like this. "Dammit, how could I have lost so badly! We trained so hard. Harder than anyone!" Images of his Pokemon being cast aside like they were nothing were burned into his mind. His opponent's smirk of arrogant superiority as he overpowered Ash in every way possible...

So wrapped up in his own thoughts, Ash wasn't aware of the fact that he had company until it tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, Ash turned to find himself face to face with none other than Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion. It was often said that she was the strongest of all Champions, though she denied the claim whenever she could. "Hey, Ash," she said cheerfully. "Mind if I join you?"

"Wha... oh, uhh not at all," he said, slightly uncomfortably. He sat down on a nearby bench and Cynthia followed suit.

"I take it you're not particularly thrilled to see me right now," Cynthia said after a moment. Ash looked at her. Now that he wasn't just thinking about why she might be there he noticed that she looked very different from how she normally did when they had met in the past. For one, she wasn't wearing her usual black outfit but a light jacket and jeans. Wrapped around her neck was an elegant looking white scarf that suited the look well. In fact it was so strange to see her wearing something like that, Ash blinked several times to ensure he was seeing her properly. In addition to her attire, Ash notice that her hair, which usually hung loose, was tied up into a ponytail. All in all, the young woman before him was a very different Cynthia than he had ever seen before.

Noticing his stares, Cynthia looked down at her outfit then said, "I tried to disguise myself a little because I got tired of being followed everywhere for a change. Did I do a bad job or something? I've never really worn this kind of stuff so casually before." She sounded a little worried. Ash however couldn't prevent a small laugh from escaping his lips. "What!" demanded Cynthia, flustered. "Even if I didn't do it that well you don't have to laugh..."

Ash quickly put up his hands in surrender. "No, no. I'm sorry I laughed and your outfit looks really good. I'm serious!" he added when Cynthia threw him a skeptical look. Smile fading, Ash continued, "Truthfully though, you're right. I'm not really happy to see you. Wait-" Ash shook his head. "That came out wrong. It's not that I'm unhappy to see you, I just wish you didn't have to see me like... this," he finished in disgust.

Cynthia considered the boy before her. He was always bursting with energy and excitement it was a little off putting to see him so down. However, ever since his battle had finished she had felt the urge to say something to him. Seeing that Ash wasn't likely going to keep talking she took a breath and began. "Let me start by saying that I came here for two reasons. The main reason that I'm here is that I want to confirm something that has come up recently." Ignoring Ash's obvious curiosity and surprise Cynthia continued, "but I want to take care of the other thing first."

"Ash, I did some research on you. Mainly the people you have met over the course of your life as a Pokemon trainer. I was pretty surprised by what I found too. You have ties of friendship with practically every important and powerful trainer in every region." Seeing Ash's look of confusion Cynthia said quickly, "Basically I mean you are good friends with every gym leader, member of the elite four, the battle frontier brains, each of the professors from the different regions, and even Lance and of course myself. What I'm getting at is that I understand why you are so crushed by your last battle. You are trying to live up to the expectations of all these people who have faith in you. You feel like you have betrayed them all, like you let them all down." Ash was staring at the ground now so Cynthia could not see his face, however, his clenched fists confirmed the truth of what she was saying.

Cynthia continued, stronger now with momentum, "However, in my opinion, whether or not they all still hold that faith in you is irrelevant." Ash looked up surprised. "I think you're going about this the complete wrong way, Ash. It's like you're doing the gym challenges and the subsequent competitions because you think that is the only way that your friends will acknowledge your accomplishments and potential. But that's making you needlessly rush ahead without allowing yourself to grow as a person. So do yourself a favor, go out into the world and find something important to Ash the person, not Ash the Pokemon trainer. Once you do you will mature into a great person and Pokemon trainer."

Cynthia finished speaking. Ash said nothing. It was times like this that he found it so hard to believe that she was a mere five years older than he was. At the ripe age of twenty, the difference in experience when it came to pretty much everything was just too different to judge. The following silence began to make Cynthia think that her speech, which she was now getting embarrassed over, might not have worked. She looked at Ash and was surprised to find him leaning back in his seat staring at the sky which was now littered with stars. Cynthia opened her mouth to ask an uncertain question when Ash suddenly broke the silence.

"Thanks," he said, still staring at the stars.

"What?" said Cynthia, a bit thrown off by his calm, one word response.

Ash dropped his gaze from the sky and met Cynthia's eyes. "I think I'll take your advise. I really appreciate you saying all that to me. I only wish that someone had said something like that to me a long time ago, then maybe I wouldn't have had to go through something like this. It's no wonder she's the Champion, right Brock?"

Cynthia gave a start as familiar laughter emanated from behind a nearby hedge row. Brock stood up from his crouched position and walked over to the two others saying, "Nothing gets by you does it, Ash? How long did you know I was there?"

"The whole time," said Ash smiling. He stood up and Cynthia followed suit. She was still embarrassed about her speech and finding out that someone else had heard it didn't help the situation at all. "Well now that Brock's not hiding anymore why don't you tell us the other reason you came to see me? Unless it was private," Ash added tentatively.

Cynthia sighed and put her hand to her forehead. "Yeah, he can hear it, it's not that big of a deal. There isn't anyone else around here sneaking around though, is there?" she shot at Brock who grinned abashedly and shook his head. "Well then, I've already gone a little over my time limit here but I'll give you the short version." Rummaging around in a pocket, Cynthia brought out a small round device that looked like a compass. She handed it wordlessly to Ash.

"Uh, thanks," said Ash confused. "So what were you going to tell me?"

"Put simply, a close friend of mine needs help, but wasn't able to get help herself so she asked me to help her find help by using that thing to help point to who would be able to help." Ash looked at the champion blankly.

"That's not simple, you said help too many times."

"Hey Ash, it's pointing right at you," said Brock, staring at the compass. Ash looked down at the device. Sure enough, the red tip of the needle was pointing directly at him. Smiling slightly at the coincidence, he moved the compass to his right.

The needle flowed smoothly and continued to point directly at him.

Ash's smile slipped slightly. For the next few seconds he moved the compass up, down, spun it, flipped it, and even gave it to Brock, who walked around him while watching it. No matter what he did, the needle pointed directly at him.

"I'd have never thought it possible, but it's a compass that points to Ash," said Brock bemusedly. "Maybe it points to short people?" Ash glared death at Brock who stifled laughter, turning back to Cynthia. " Seriously thought, why on earth do you have something like this? How is this thing even real?" Cynthia shook her head.

"I'm sorry but I have no idea. My friend just gave me that and said that it would point me to the person most suited to helping her once I got close enough." Ash looked over at Cynthia, unsure of what to say. The mystery behind the entire situation was immense. A part of him wanted to back away, yet...

"So you want my help?" he asked after a moment. "What does your friend need?"

"I don't know. There wasn't much time for explanations and no matter how much I try I can't reach her," said Cynthia gloomily. She rubbed her arm, clearly upset. "All she did was send me this compass and some instructions with a plea for help. I know it's weird. I know it doesn't make any sense. I won't force you to help me but... please?"

"Wait, wait," said Ash anxiously. The tone of Cynthia's voice was suddenly going somewhere he'd never heard from her before and it was a bit alarming. "I'm not trying to avoid helping you, but I just don't understand why you could possibly need my help that much. I'm not even that great of a trainer. I mean wouldn't it be much better and safer to ask someone else like Lance or-"

"The compass pointed to you, Ash. I've had it for days while here, and it's never changed its focus. Resolutely and unwavering, it's always pointed to you. Of course if you don't want to, then as I said, I won't force you." Cynthia turned, moving away a bit before looking back at Ash.

"So, what are you going to do?" asked Brock in a level voice.

Ash looked at him, then looked at Cynthia. "What do you mean 'what am I going to do'?" Ash said calmly. He smiled and tossed the compass to Cynthia who caught, looking surprised.

"So, when are we leaving?"

**Present Day, Element City. In a large Pokemon Center located near the edge of the Water District.**

Brock gave a groan as he straightened his back. "Finally!" he said, replacing the final lid. Six large pots each occupied a stove with hot fires licking the bottoms. The pots were filled to the brim with a creamy and bubbling soup that could only be described as liquid heaven. For the past three hours, Brock had been tending to each of the pots, preparing the main course for the reunion. Taking off his apron which read 'Kiss the Cook', he turned to discover that he had a visitor. Walking over to her Brock said, "What's up, Misty? Was the lure of my cooking too much to handle?"

Misty laughed and lightly chopped Brock on the head saying, "Not quite, Rock-Head. A couple more people showed up and they are asking for you."

"Well it's good timing then. I just finished," said Brock, tossing the apron over a chair.

Taking the lead, Misty exited the kitchen and headed toward the main lobby of the Pokemon Center. It was a bit of a walk from the kitchen to their destination. They were currently in the biggest Pokemon Center in the entire Water District. Misty was humming to herself out of boredom. Brock laughed silently at the silly tune she was humming.

Despite not having seen each other for a long time, Brock was very happy to see that Misty was still the same stubborn yet playful girl at heart as the one who had been following Ash when he challenged the Pewter Gym all those years ago. When he and Misty had met earlier in the day, he had been afraid that there would be such a gap between them that it wouldn't be like old times. His worries, of course, were all for nothing as Misty was delighted to describe the past few years of her life to him. She talked to him for much of the time he was cooking, ignorant of the fact that he stopped listening after thirty minutes.

"I don't know if you heard, being away from Pewter City, but Cerulean was attacked by a group of Pokemon hunters recently," said Misty suddenly, her face twisting in distaste. Brock blinked in surprise.

"No this is the first I've heard of it. Was anyone hurt?"

"Not really," said Misty. "My sister's and I managed to put a stop to it but they got away with a large number of Pokemon from parts around town, including the gym and the daycare nearby. She didn't show herself but everyone is sure that it was J's Hunters."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Brock with a frown. "Hunter J's group is a lot to handle. I've run into her a couple of times while traveling around with Ash during the Sinnoh League."

"Sounds rough," she said shortly. Brock looked at the girl, completely nonplussed. Had that really been a random thought? Misty was still humming her silly tune. As they turned a corner, Brock caught a look at her face. She was smiling as she hummed, just like a little kid. Dismissing how odd she could be at times, Brock began to wonder who were the people that had asked for him when Misty slowed suddenly and motioned to him to move to the side of the hall.

Following suit, Brock was curious as to why they had moved over when the hall was empty. About to ask Misty what was going on, Brock opened his mouth to speak just as he heard the soft sounds of many feet moving fast.

"There they are," she said, pointing directly in front of her. Looking around Misty, Brock saw a group of Blissey walking towards them each carrying small boxes filled with potions and other Pokemon medical supplies.

As the group of Blissey passed them, Misty said, "You can tell just how huge this place is by the number of Pokemon helping Nurse Joy here."

Continuing their walk, Brock nodded saying, "Yeah you're right about that. Most Pokemon Centers only have one or two Pokemon helping the Nurse Joy, but this place has a ton." He paused, considering a question, then asked, "Huge Center aside, I'm curious what you think of this reunion party so far. Anything come to mind?"

Misty laughed saying, "Actually yeah, I have something I can say." She paused a moment then said, "This party is totally weird. I mean all the guests are really important Pokemon trainers and the invitation was pretty mysterious itself. There's more to this party than meets the eye if you ask me." Misty had turned to face Brock and was now walking backwards.

"But, you know, I think I'm finally starting to get used to all these big-shots showing up. It feels kinda' crazy that I got an invite." She looked at the ceiling with a grin. "Well, then again, I am a gym leader after all."

Brock smiled at Misty's comment. He had also received an invitation to this reunion-party from none other than the owner of the Battle Frontier, Scott.

Hello-  
You are cordially invited to an inter-regional league party that  
I am hosting in Element City. With the exception of a small  
number of Pokemon trainers, the guests at the event are all  
Gym Leaders or higher. Although attending is, of course, up  
to you, it would be extremely unwise to decline as many  
important issues will be discussed at the event.  
Information regarding the time and place of the event is  
given on the reverse side of this invitation.  
See You All Soon!  
-Scott

P.S. The famous Chef Brock will be cooking the main course for the party  
so I know you are all looking forward to that meal like I am!

Brock's invitation had also come with a separate note, apologizing for putting him in charge of the cooking without consulting him first and explaining the circumstances of his actions. As Brock did owe Scott a huge favor, and having made food for large groups of people all his life, he understood and he was happy to do so. Now having completed the cooking, he was glad that he had been given the task. Working in the kitchen allowed him to get used to being around such a boisterous crowd. The past five years of his life had been spent mainly traveling around and honing his skill as a Pokemon breeder, building up a fairly good reputation for himself. On the other hand, making food for so many was reminiscent of the great times he had traveling with Ash and the girls. At such a reunion it was nice to have something to do.

Sounds began to reach Brock's ears. He could hear laughter and many overlapping conversations coming from a lot of people. Clearly the number of guests that had arrived in the past hour had gone up immensely. Though initially the whole idea of such a party taking place was fairly questionable in Brock's mind, upon his and Misty's arrival at the main lobby he could not deny that this party was the real deal.

Just one look at the whole central lobby showed that Scott had orchestrated the largest get-together of important Pokemon trainers from every region; probably in history. Brock recognized Gym Leaders from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh as well as their Elite Four counterparts. Of course, there wouldn't be anyone from the Unova region, one of the other regions that had a well reputed League. After all, Unova was in a completely different hemisphere than the other four regions. He also saw the Battle Frontier Brains scattered about conversing with the Gym Leaders. The group that drew his attention most of all however, was positioned almost dead center in the lobby. Pokemon Champion Cynthia and Dragon Master Lance were both conversing with a number of people he couldn't see from where he was standing.

"Brock. Hey, Brock!"

Brock gave a start. He had been completely lost in his own thoughts and didn't realize that Misty had been trying to get his attention.

"Ahh, sorry, Misty," he said apologetically. "I was just surprised by how many people have shown up even though it's early in the afternoon."

"It's fine, it's fine," Misty said, taking hold of his arm and pulling him through the milling crowd. "What did you mean by bringing up the time, anyway? What does the time have to do with anything to begin with? I mean, it's just a free-flowing party when you look at it."

Brock understood her confusion. "Well I had figured that more people would show up later in the day, closer to dinner," he said. Misty gave him a 'say-what?' look which made Brock roll his eyes and say, "Never mind, Misty. It's an adult thing, so you wouldn't completely understand it anyway."

Misty stopped walking and looked Brock straight in the eyes who returned the glare with one of equal aggressiveness. They only lasted three seconds before both burst out laughing at each other. The sudden laughter was loud enough that it caught the attention of the center group which quickly converged on an unsuspecting Brock, causing him to experience the most confusion he ever had all his life...

"Brock!"

"Brock, it's so good to see you!"

"Brock! How are you?"

"Brock, I missed you so much!"

"...Brock, are you alright?" said a calm, amused, voice that he recognized instantly.

"Cynthia," said Brock turning his head to face the Champion who was watching the chaotic hug from a safe distance. "Save me," he said. Brock attempted to take a step towards Cynthia, but merely caused the group to loose balance and collapse in a heap on top of him. Lance and Cynthia were attempting to suppress their mirth however they gave up after a bit and just laughed, hanging on to each other so as not to fall over themselves. Finally not being pushed and pulled in three different directions at once, Brock relaxed and waited for the three apologizing teens to get off his back. A relaxed male voice suddenly spoke close to his head,

"I'm sorry about that, Brock. Are you alright?"

Raising his head to face the man kneeling at his side Brock said with a grin, "Well, Norman, my spine's been snapped and I doubt I'll ever stand again, but apart from that I'm perfectly fine." Norman grinned back and held out his hand which Brock took, standing up with a groan.

Turning Brock around with a hand on his shoulder, Norman said, "Now how about we try that again though this time without assaulting Brock, yes?"

"Sorry, Brock," chorused the three good friends that stood before him.

Brock broke into a big smile, "It's great to see you three after all this time."

They beamed at him. Before him stood, from right to left, Dawn, May, and May's younger brother Max. Though the initial surprise of seeing them all so grown up was there, Brock maintained his composure much better than he had earlier in the day when he had bumped into Misty. Of course, his thoughts had not changed one bit. 'God, it is weird seeing these girls all grown up,' Brock thought with a mental sigh.

The light caught something at Max's waist, shining red and white, which drew Brock's attention immediately.

"Is that a pokeball at your waist, Max?" asked Brock in surprise.

As if he had been waiting for this verbal cue, Max took a step forward saying proudly, "That's right, Brock. I am an official Pokemon trainer! See?" he said pulling his pokedex out of his pocket.

May made a small sound that sounded like a cross between a snort and a sneeze. Max turned to face her, annoyed.

"Just because you're so famous doesn't give you the right to look down at me," he said.

May opened her mouth to retort but stopped at Dawn's hand on her shoulder. Sighing and turning her back to Max she said, "Sorry, Max. I didn't mean to offend you."

Dawn smiled at May then said to Max, "You shouldn't be so quick to flare up like that you know." Dawn put her free hand on her hip. "I mean, you haven't stopped talking about showing Brock your Pokemon ever since we got invited here. It does become somewhat grating after the millionth time."

Max blushed and turned his back to the girls muttering an apology. Dawn gave Brock and the others a cheerful smile then said as if the past minute had never happened, "So aren't you going to show Brock your Pokemon, Max?"

"Oh, yeah," said Max pulling out the two pokeballs attached to his belt Max said, "Come on out you two!"

Two bursts of light revealed a Treecko and a Slakoth.

"Treecko, Slakoth, this is Brock. He's a Pokemon breeder," said Max.

"Nice to meet you both," said Brock crouching in front of the two Pokemon. Treecko shook Brock's offered hand with both of its own while Slakoth did nothing. Upon further inspection the group discovered that it was sleeping standing up and Max recalled his Pokemon as the group laughed.

xxx

One hour later found the party in full swing. It appeared that everyone had arrived save the host, Scott. Dinner was still a little ways away and everyone had split into a number of smaller groups. In addition to the seating places that the Pokemon Center had, a number of extra chairs and couches had been set up to permit large groups to talk in comfort. Currently, Brock was sitting in the largest of these areas occupied by his now much larger group. There were a number of conversations going on at once and Brock was taking a break from talking, simply relaxing to the lull of the room.

Cynthia, who occupied a couch with him, said, "I'm going to go get a snack, make sure no one takes my seat." And with that she walked off.

Turning away from Cynthia, Brock took a minute to see who was currently in his group. Occasionally people joined and left however it looked as though the group had settled in. All of his old traveling companions were there in addition to many of the Gym Leaders Frontier Brains that the traveling group had connected with well. Jasmine, leader of the Olivine Gym, and Clair, leader of the Blackthorn Gym, were talking to Lance. Sitting near them were Flannery, leader of the Lavaridge Gym, Winona, leader of the Fortree Gym, Gardenia, leader of the Eternia Gym, and Maylene, leader of the Veilstone Gym. The four girls were the loudest of everyone else in the whole group, mainly due to the fact that they were laughing so much.

'They're probably talking about boys,' thought Brock, chuckling.

The last part of the group consisted of all seven of the Frontier Brains. They were all close together in a circle, save Anabel, and they were talking fairly quietly and there was no laughter coming from them as there had been throughout the party. Currently, Spenser and Brandon were deep in conversation about something while the others listened intently. Anabel had placed herself between the group of Brains and Brock's old traveling companions, her head tilted slightly towards the group of Brains clearly taking in every word, however she was watching the other conversations.

Brock was beginning to feel suspicious and in all honesty he did not want to think about it at this time. In an attempt to distract himself Brock began to listen to the conversation that was going on nearest to him which was between Dawn, May, Misty, Norman, and an uninterested Max.

"...simple but really pretty at the same time. I wish I had a dress like that," Misty was saying. Anabel voiced her agreement and complimented Dawn as well. Startled at Anabel's sudden appearance in this conversation, Brock quickly looked over at the group of Brains who were now sitting in a loose circle and laughing at something.

'...did I just imagine that before?' thought Brock in confusion. Meanwhile the conversation was progressing without the slightest notice of Brock's unease.

"Thanks!" said Dawn happily. Her hands automatically smoothed the sides of the dress she was wearing. She loved dressing up. Having done Pokemon contests for so long had rubbed off on her daily attire. "While the tournament is going on we can make some time to all go shopping together," Dawn continued excitedly. Speaking now to the group at large, Dawn said, "I still can't believe how many important people are here. And they're all gym leaders too! And the Elite Four from each region are here. I mean, even the Champion is here!" Everyone laughed at Dawn's childlike hyperactivity.

Taking advantage of the pause in the conversation, Brock asked a question that had been on his mind for a while.

"So how have your Pokemon been doing, Dawn?" asked Brock.

"They're all doing really well! To be honest, Piplup came in with me, but... I think he's lost," she said laughing.

"Darn, I wanted to see him."

"Sorry, Brock," said Dawn now seeing that Cynthia had returned stopping at the side of the couch and looking at the group at large. She stood there in silence for a moment then sighed.

"You know, it really does feel just like old times," she said with a sad smile. Taking her seat again she continued, "I do wish Ash were here though. That would make it perfect."

"Not likely," said Max, speaking for the first time in a while and additionally earning himself a bop on the top of his head from May. Rubbing his head, Max persisted to the group, "Come on, think about it rationally. After he lost in the Sinnoh League all those years ago, he quit Pokemon competitions. No one has seen him since. So why would he come now; to the largest most well publicized tournament ever, for that matter?" Many people in the group lowered their gaze somewhat, mulling over Max's words. Cynthia made to say something but Lance beat her to it.

"That's not entirely true, Max," said Lance. "It's true that Ash hasn't competed in any competitions since the one five years ago, but it's not as if he vanished of the face of the earth and I'm sure that he hasn't quit Pokemon competitions. I think he's just taking a long break from them." Everyone looked at him with flat suspicion. "What?" Lance said quickly. "I'm just talking from what I know about Ash. I mean when I first met him every other sentence out of his mouth was 'I'm going to become a Pokemon Master!' and he's not the type to give up on his dreams." He laughed and said, "Come on everyone, this is Ash we're talking about. I think there's a bigger chance of him being lost in a forest somewhere than him not training, don't you?"

"I guess so, but I still bet that he isn't going to show up. Did he even get an invitation, you think?" Max asked the group at large. This time it was Norman who delivered the chop.

"Well, Max," he said as Max rubbed his head again, "you got an invitation, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Good point," Max said grumpily while the rest of the group chuckled.

"Though I will give you some credit, Max. Just how is Ash supposed to get an invitation if no one knows where he is to begin with?" said Norman reasonably.

Brock leaned forward in his seat and everyone looked at him. He had been thinking on a theory for much of the time he was at the party and it had gotten stronger and stronger as the day went on. Brock had wanted to run his idea past people but he hadn't been able to find the right time so bring it up. Seeing the opportunity that the conversation had so perfectly presented him with, he jumped on it.

"I've been wondering about the whole meaning behind this party as well as the guest list all day and though I couldn't even begin to guess the purpose of the party I thought of something that I believe has some truth to it," Brock said, his gaze moving around the circle of listeners. He could see the interest in everyones' eyes which made him feel much better about the whole thing. At times, Brock had wondered if he was the only person there who was very curious about the whole mystery. Taking a deep breath, Brock began, "The biggest mystery here to me is why people who aren't officials of the Pokemon League have been invited to a party that is clearly specifically for them." As he said this he gestured to May, Dawn, and Max. "I also am referring to myself, as I am a Pokemon Breeder. Although it is true my invitation could be explained because of my job to cook," he added as an afterthought. "Anyway, when you really think about it, Ash is the only explanation for this party's entire guest list." Receiving confused looks from everyone around him Brock began to elaborate. "Well I guess it is much easier for me to see this explanation because I know everyone here. Put it this way, for those of us here who have traveled with Ash through whatever region it was, you know the gym leaders from that region well enough that they remembered who you are even after all this time right?" The girls nodded. Continuing Brock said, "Well Ash knows every single person in this room well enough to consider them all good friends of his. I would know as I've been to all of his gym battles. Even his very first one," he added at which he laughed. Seeing that no one was laughing with him and most had confused expressions he stopped and dully explained, "It's funny because when Ash challenged his first gym ever, I was the gym leader at the time."

"Ohhhh," said the group collectively at which point they broke into scattered laughter. Brock put a hand to his forehead and sighed.

"Anyway," said Brock loudly bringing the group back under control, "Ash is the only person that has a strong connection to every person who is here. Therefore I am sure he got invited."

"So basically you're saying that you just have this feeling that Ash was invited and invented this really scientific reason for it to be true," said Misty, earning a burst of laughter.

"Basically, but it does make sense right?" said Brock with a shrug. "Though, whether or not he does come, I just don't know." He stretched, saying, "One way or another, we'll find everything out when Scott shows up, whenever that may be."

"Well you're right about that, Brock," said Brandon who had stood up, closely followed by the other Frontier Brains, hands suspended at their waists. They were staring at the entrance. Twisting in his seat, Brock followed Brandon's gaze to the front doors of the Center.

Scott had finally arrived.

XxxxX

**A/N(after the fact): Well here we go! So it begins. Nothing like a nice get together to kick things off. I remember when I first published this, the story was soooo different that what it is now. In a crazy way too, you wouldn't even believe me though if you're curious feel free to ask. Anyway at the moment I'm reminiscing about how this used to be two chapters with the first bit as a prologue because I wanted to troll people into thinking that the girl from the very beginning might be May. Now whenever I read it it's like I can hear the girl berating me for not saying her name the whole time. Anyway let me know what you think! Cheers and on to the next chapter!**

**One last thing, this fic will be very A/N light as I think it helps pace the story better. So for future, know that if you have any questions or something you'd like to share with me feel free to leave a review or PM me about it and I'll get right back to you. I love talking to readers and fellow writers. Some of my best ideas have come out of those conversations. I owe it all to you guys. ^_^**


	2. It's More Dramatic That Way, Isn't It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years past, a crushing defeat made Ash vanish from the world of Pokemon. Now, at the advent of the I-R Pokemon Tournament he returns, a new person. The Hunters have a new leader, people with god-like powers are appearing, and there are even whispers of a civil war. An epic story filled with so much conflict that there is really only one absolute truth. Nothing is as it seems.

**In an apartment located close to the Pokemon Center. Approximately thirty minutes before the end of the previous chapter.**

_Miranda-_

_Hey, I hope you are doing alright. I am truly sorry that I_  
 _had to leave you alone for so long. I really wanted to send_  
 _Pikachu along with Scott to keep you company until I got_  
 _to the party later, but I couldn't because I need him for_  
 _the tournament registration. I just wanted to let you know_  
 _that I'm back and I'll see you soon._

_-Ash_

Miranda let her arm fall to her side, the letter she had read so many times slid between her fingers and fell to the floor. She sighed in frustration.

Miranda was lying spread out on her bed, facing the ceiling and listening to the ticking of the clock on the wall. Scott had dropped her off at her apartment over an hour ago for her to get ready saying that he would return as soon as he completed a few short errands. She had put out the nice outfit she wore in public on a chair by her bed and taken a long hot shower to calm herself down.

Not wanting to get her party clothing wrinkled Miranda had temporarily donned a shorts shirt and shorts at which point she noticed an envelope on her dresser that hadn't been there earlier that day. Figuring Scott must have put it there she opened it and read the first communication Ash had sent her in over a month. Now, laying on her bed, and having read the short letter over a dozen times, Miranda was getting very annoyed at Scott taking so long with his errands. It was true, she knew where the party was and it was completely sensible to walk there as it was so close to her home, however she could never bring herself to walk into a room full of people she didn't know at all without at least being led by someone she did. Sure she was way better around crowds and strangers these days but not that much.

Overcome by restlessness, Miranda squirmed on her back then sat up quickly. Sounds of surprise hit her from all angles. She had become so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize that she was surrounded by her Pokemon, who all lay around her lazily.

"Ah!"

Miranda gave a start as something cold and soft pressed itself to the bottom of her back. Turning she saw her Glaceon poking its nose into her back. She giggled, picking up Glaceon and touched noses with it. Feeling much more content, Miranda set Glaceon on the bed and got up, walking over to the full length mirror that was hanging on the wall. She ran her hands along her forearms tracing the intricate tattoos on each.

Miranda had many of these tattoos on her body and it was because of them that she had to be extra mindful of what she wore, else she drew unnecessary attention. In the beginning she had been the subject of many stares and questions until Ash helped her get something different to wear. On the back of each of her hands there were identical spiral like, swirl tattoos. Her forearms bore flame tattoos that began a little behind her wrist and ended by her elbows. Similarly, the outside of her legs from the knee to the ankle bore tattoos of striking lightning. At the nape of her neck was a tattoo of fangs. Underneath that one, covering her upper back, was a large tattoo of the sun. In turn, underneath the sun tattoo was a tattoo of the moon. Finally, at the top of each arm near her shoulder were two more tattoos. The one on her left arm was one of an elaborate snowflake, the one on her right arm a trio of leaves.

The tattoos were constant reminders of her past and her culture. Though those memories were not ones that she dwelt on often, she didn't hate her tattoos for it. On the contrary, Miranda loved them all. To have to cover them up with different clothing so as not to draw unwanted attention was one of the things that she resented about living in the city, albeit temporarily.

Through her open window, the sound of a jeep coming to a stop told Miranda that it was time to go. She got dressed and was just running a brush through her hair as a knock came on the door.

"Miranda! It's me!" said Scott loudly.

"Come on in, Scott!" Miranda called back to him, now putting her hair up into a ponytail, "The door is unlocked!"

A few minutes later, Scott opened the door revealing the same man who had left her over an hour ago though, Miranda noticed, he was wearing a different colored version of the shirt he loved so much.

Finishing her hair, she turned to face him saying, "So the reason you took so long was to change your shirt?"

Scott grinned saying, "You wouldn't believe how hard it was to find a place that had 'em. I was half way in the Wind District before I finally found a store that sold them."

Miranda laughed at this, but couldn't help but wonder if there might be some truth to it. Ash had described Scott as completely carefree without bounds, and after spending five minutes with the man, she knew he was right.

"So are we going to drive there or walk?" asked Miranda as they left the apartment and headed for the elevator. She lived on the top floor of a five floor building. For reasons unknown to her, she wasn't required to pay anything to stay there, however, this didn't bother her as she didn't have a way to pay in the first place. Sometimes it was better to not know something than to know it.

"We will be walking to the party," said Scott, pressing the button for the main floor. "It's only a few minutes walk to the Center from here. In any case, I don't want to really give any advance warning that about when I'm showing up." Scott led the way through the front doors of the building into the pleasant afternoon air. Miranda stretched, smiling. She loved being outside. It was one of the reasons that she spent so much time on that quaint hill as opposed to in her apartment. As they began to make their way to the Pokemon Center, Miranda asked curiously,

"Why don't you want people knowing when you are going to get there? I mean, it's your party isn't it?"

Scott laughed. "Yes it does seem weird when you think about it. You see, about a week ago I gave an interview on national television about the upcoming tournament. It was basically so that people who didn't know too much about it would be able to understand how it all worked."

"So how does that make you want to hide from your guests?"

"I was just getting to that," said Scott. He paused for a moment, Miranda could see that he was laughing to himself. "Well, what happened was that at the end of the interview I told the entire world that I had recently officially added another Frontier Brain to the Battle Frontier that I run in Kanto."

"Really?

"That's right," said Scott, still smiling.

"So who is it?" Miranda asked eagerly.

"That's the thing, girl, I'm not telling." Scott ignored the face Miranda was giving him and continued, "See, I haven't told anyone about this at all, not even the current Brains. The facility was built in secret, under a facade fed to the public. I mean, think about it from their point of view. I added another person to their rank and I didn't even tell them that I was thinking about adding one more. I'd imagine they are going to capture me or something and force me to talk." At this Scott laughed his loudest yet. Miranda shook her head at the whole situation.

They kept walking as Scott calmed down. Finally regaining his composure he said evenly, "Though I guess it really wouldn't matter initially if I told everyone who the Eighth is, there is a really major problem that will surface if I do tell and I will address this at the party later. Anyway," he added, pointing ahead, "we're here."

xxx

Miranda stood just outside the Pokemon Center, looking at the sky. She was alone now. Scott had entered a few minutes ago leaving her with some well put instructions.

_"Don't go in at the same time as I do, wait a few minutes then come in. Who knows what's going to happen and I figure it's best if you come in a little after I do because it should be less chaotic by then... at least it should be by the entrance." (laughing)_

"Well," said Miranda, speaking to the open air, "I'm bored so chaos or not I'm going in." She took a calming breath, then walked up the steps and entered the Pokemon Center.

Scott had been right, for the most part. The area around the doors was empty, however, Scott was surrounded by every other person in the room and it looked like he was being interrogated by those closest to him. Not one person noticed that she had entered the building which suited her fine. She would rather meet all these people after they had calmed down. Noticing a Pokemon statue nearby the crowd, Miranda went over to it and climbed up on it, giving her a much better view of the scene as well as enabling her to clearly hear what people were saying.

"It shouldn't matter, Scott!" a young woman was saying forcibly. "I still don't really understand why you didn't tell us anything all this time, but at least tell us who the eighth is now!"

"I already told you all I'm sorry that it ended up being this way, but for the sake of the tournament I cant say anything, nor do I want to," Scott said. Miranda thought that he was pretty calm for someone who looked like he was about to get mobbed. The group of people quieted as another person from the center ring spoke.

"Scott, how about we do this. Why don't we all go grab seats and you can tell us exactly why you set this whole thing up. It's pretty obvious to all of us that trying to muscle anything out of you is pointless." Miranda was impressed at the way the man had taken control of the situation and the crowd. She was well versed in the results of group psychology. A person could have anyone turn on them, no matter how close they were.

"Brilliant suggestion, Brandon," Scott said jovially, and relieved. "However I do believe that it is time that we ate dinner. So while you all set up an area where I can speak to everyone, I'll go and tell them to bring out the food. I can explain everything as we eat." Miranda watched him walk off out of the huge lobby. When Scott had mentioned food, Miranda had realized exactly what had been bugging her the moment the front doors had opened though she was too focused on what was happening to Scott to pay it much mind. Now she realized that she smelled food. Wonderfully delicious food. She took big, deep breaths, smiling happily. Miranda hadn't ever smelled anything this wonderful her entire life.

"Uhhh, hey, are you okay up there?"

Miranda gave a start and nearly slipped off the statue. Embarrassed, she looked down to see that everyone was looking up at her. Apparently while she was enjoying the smell of the food, someone must have noticed her and pointed her out to others which repeated until everyone was looking at the unknown girl sitting on the statue. The person who had spoken to her was the one closest to the statue. She was looking straight up at her.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. But why are you up there in the first place?" the girl continued.

"Oh, well I just wanted a better view," Miranda replied, everyone's stares making her nervous. Inadvertently she had made herself the center of attention. She climbed down quickly.

"Then you must have come here right after Scott did. Oh, I'm Dawn, by the way," said the girl who had called out to her earlier, cheerfully holding out her hand.

"It's Miranda," said Miranda, shaking Dawn's hand. Not releasing her, Dawn pulled her away from the statue out into the open where people started introducing themselves to her. Miranda didn't even try to remember everyone's names; there were too many people there. They each gave their name and their position after which they went to go help set up the sitting area for the talk later. Finally Miranda found herself facing the people who had been the inner ring of the crowd surrounding Scott as well as a few others that were definitely not Gym Leaders. As the first of them came over, Miranda smelled the same smell of soup that had taken hold of her senses earlier.

"You're the cook, aren't you!" she said suddenly, eagerly. The man looked surprised, as did the rest of the group.

"My name is Brock, and yes I did cook the dinner, how did you know?" he said curiously.

"You smell just like that soup. It smells so good. That's why I spaced out on top of the statue," said Miranda. "I haven't eaten potato soup in a long time and I'm really looking forward to eating some later. If it tastes as good as it smells, I..." she broke off, her mind carried away by the thought of such good food.

"Oh so it's potato soup for dinner," said the short boy. "I can't wait Brock!" He came over to Miranda. "You know, Brock is the best cook around! Seriously! I'm Max by the way. I'm May's brother." He pointed to the girl standing next to Dawn who waived.

"Like he said, I'm his sister, May. Nice to meet you, Miranda."

The rest of the group introduced themselves one after another. As, Miranda had suspected, the seven people that had been closest to Scott were the Battle Frontier Brains. Most of them left to help with the sitting area, however three remained. The one that currently had Miranda's full attention was the old man named Spenser. When she had shaken his hand she had felt something different about him then everyone else who was there.

"What's up, Spenser?" said Anabel coming over when she noticed that he hadn't made to go with them. Brandon had also stopped in curiosity.

Spenser gave no indication that he had heard Anabel say anything. He took a step toward Miranda and said, "I don't mean to sound strange or rude, but may I see the tattoos on the back of your hands?"

"Of course," said Miranda. This was not the first time that she had been asked to show the backs of her hands to curious people. It did get annoying after a while but she saw no harm in it now.

Spenser examined both tattoos closely. It looked as if he were calculating something. Apparently making up his mind about something, he asked, almost tentatively, "You wouldn't happen to have, well, more tattoos like this would you?"

Miranda was really curious now. She wanted to know where this was going. "Yes, I do," she said pulling up one sleeve of her shirt to reveal a fire tattoo that surprised many of those who were looking. Spenser looked very excited now.

"Where are you going with this, Spenser?" asked Brandon who had come over and rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I think you're beginning to scare her."

Miranda laughed, shaking her head, "It's not that. I'm just surprised that you guessed that I had more than one kind of tattoo." Miranda pulled her sleeve down continuing, "Other people have been interested in my tattoos on the back of my hands but normally they just leave it at that. You're the first person to realize I have more."

"Wait up a second." May was looking at Miranda strangely. "I'm not against tattoos or anything, I mean I have a small one on my back near my shoulder, but exactly how many tattoos do you have?"

Miranda looked at the ceiling for a moment, then said, "By that are you asking how many individual tattoos I have or just different ones."

"Tell us both," said Dawn interested.

"Well individually I have, uhh, let's see." Miranda counted for a moment then told a wide eyed group, "I have eleven." Not noticing their stares, she continued, "Separate tattoos though, I have eight."

At this Spenser gave a shout of excitement. "I should ask a few more questions to confirm it, but am I right in thinking you are a descendant of the Eon Tribe?"

"The what?" said the group at large.

"It may be, Spenser, and I completely understand your excitement too," said a voice behind them.

"There you are, Cynthia," said Brock, "You disappeared on us all. By the way, Miranda, this is Cynthia, the Sinnoh Pokemon League Champion. Cynthia, this is Miranda."

"It's an pleasure to meet you," said Cynthia, shaking Miranda's hand and bowing her head slightly.

"Likewise," Miranda said breathlessly. Ever since Ash had told her about the greatest female Pokemon trainer in the world (saying the greatest trainer overall was of course himself), Miranda had always wanted to meet her. Now that she was finally shaking hands with her it felt slightly unreal. She had so much respect for this woman who kicked so much ass.

Pulling herself back together, Miranda said to both Spenser and Cynthia, "I really don't know what the Eon Tribe is though."

Spenser looked at Cynthia who took the cue and explained, "To be honest, the name really isn't that important. It is after all a name that was thought up by someone who obviously wasn't part of the tribe itself. What is important though is the meaning of the name. Though simple to the point of silliness in my opinion, the name does illustrate the largest identifying feature of the tribe." She stopped speaking at which point Spenser continued,

"The person who thought up the Eon must have been thinking about the Pokemon that are ultimately worshiped as guardians and deity of the tribe."

The girls and Max were giving Spenser blank looks. Miranda could tell that they had no idea where this was going. She suppressed the urge to laugh. Spenser sighed and chuckled at their faces saying, "The Eon Tribe worshiped the Pokemon Eevee, and all the different evolutions of Eevee. I assume that because most of them end in 'eon', the tribe was named the Eon Tribe. Nothing to do with the actual "Eon" Pokemon."

"Oh," said Dawn and May, understanding finally. Max however asked,

"So are you from that Eon Tribe?"

Miranda felt trapped with all these people around her picking apart her past. However before she could say anything, Spencer interjected with a laugh, "Of course she isn't, boy. The Eon Tribe vanished thousands of years ago! Only the most ancient records even hold traces of them. Why do you think I asked if she was a descendent?" Miranda breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Haha, right in one," she said quickly. "To answer your question, I don't actually know. My family has been doing this for as long as I can remember so I guess it's possible."

"Oh, that's really cool," said May while the rest nodded. Miranda smiled, but was suddenly distracted by a burst of wonderful aroma. She spotted a train of steaming pots moving into the room, Scott leading the group.

"Look, here comes Scott with the soup. Let's go eat everyone."

Everyone made for the food which had been wheeled out on large movable tables complete with bowls, spoons, napkins, and soft bread. Miranda hung back, letting everyone pass her. She raised her hand, looking once more at the markings that had drawn everyone's interest. It hurt to lie to such nice people. Especially since they were Ash's friends. But they couldn't possibly understand...nor would they believe her for that matter.

"Miranda?"

She looked up to see Cynthia standing there. Waiting. Her face uncertain. Shaking her head, Miranda smiled and ran forward.

Dinner was everything and more than what Miranda had expected. The room was full of lively chatter and laughter, however Miranda was deaf and blind to everything except her soup. Initially, the group that was sitting with her had attempted to ask her some questions, however they all realized rather quickly that there would be no talking to her until she stopped eating.

"Ahhhh," sighed Miranda, completely content with herself. She had wolfed down three bowls of potato soup along with a number of rolls. She curled up in her seat resting her head on the arm of the chair so that she could still talk with everyone. After a minute of recovering from the shock of seeing anyone eat so much soup so fast and not explode, Brock nodded to the rest of the group and they all leaned forward, paying attention.

"So Miranda, we were wondering. What's your relation to Ash?" said Brock. "You're the only person here we've never met before." Miranda sat up at his question.

"By Ash do you mean Ash Ketchum?" Miranda asked quickly.

"Yeah, him," said Anabel. She was sitting next to the other girls including a newly introduced Misty, who apparently had been helping Nurse Joy with something right after Scott arrived.

"How did you know I knew Ash though?" asked Miranda confused.

Anabel took a sip of her drink then said, "Well, you see, it turns out that every person that was invited here is friends with Ash. So seeing as how you got invited, we figured you must know Ash somehow. We're just really curious because nobody here had ever met you before today."

"Oh, that's interesting," said Miranda, "but to be honest, I never got an invitation to the party. Well, not a formal one. Scott kinda brought me along. He said I would enjoy it a lot and that there would be a lot of Ash's friend here too so, here I am." She laughed and relaxed back into her chair. "So a bunch of you traveled with Ash when he was competing in the Pokemon League all those years ago?"

"That's right," said Brock. "Actually, I traveled with him the longest. I was with him through every region. Misty was with us for Kanto and Johto, May and Max were with us for the Hoenn region, and Dawn was with us in the Sinnoh region. We spent about a year or so in each I suppose."

Miranda looked at Anabel. "So you never traveled with Ash then," she said, half asking.

Anabel shook her and said, "Though I would have loved to at the time, I couldn't. I am a Frontier Brain after all. I couldn't just leave on an adventure."

"So did Scott break? Did he tell you who the eighth Brain is?" asked Miranda, sitting up again.

"No, but we've had a thought," she said slowly as though still considering it.

"Who," said Miranda.

The group was silent for a second then as one said, "Ash."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, for starters he's actually eligible to become a Brain," said Anabel. Noticing Miranda's confusion she continued, "You see, to become a Brain, apart from there actually having to be an open spot, you need to defeat every other Brain. Though it was years and years ago, Ash did beat all of us."

"I see," said Miranda, tilting her head to one side. "I guess it makes some sense, but I know he isn't the eighth. Being a Brain means you're stuck at a facility of some sort right? If he had gotten something like that he would have told me."

Anabel leaned forward slightly annoyed and said, "Hey, how can you be so sure of that and besides that," she leaned back folding her arms, "Ash hasn't been seen in over five years by anyone anywhere you know."

"Really?" said Mirand, blinking. "Oh well, I guess that's about right. I've never met any of you before today, that's for sure." Seeing the lack of understanding she continued, "I've been traveling around with Ash for over four years. We've been-" she stifled a huge yawn- "all over." Miranda looked around at the speechless faces she was surrounded by. "You know, Ash is here on the island. It's getting late too so he should be here soon. By the way..." She shifted a bit in her seat. "Where's the bathroom?"

The group watched as Miranda trotted off in the direction of the lavatory. Thunder could be heard through the walls. It was beginning to darken outside.

"She's interesting isn't she?" said a voice.

The group looked around to find Scott standing behind them. "Scott, who is she really?" asked Cynthia not taking her eyes off of Miranda.

"Not sure to be honest," he said after a second. "I've only known her a short time, but she's quite attached to Ash. Maybe they're dating?"

"Dating?" said Anabel in alarm. Everyone nearby turned their heads in curiosity at the sudden outburst but she shook her head quickly.

"Well neither of them have actually said something like that but I just figured that's the case, considering how much they're around each other," Scott said with a shrug. "They are close, at any rate. She didn't say anything?" The group just looked at him flatly. "Haha, well of course not. I guess that's not something people usually talk about when you've just met."

"It's not that, Scott," said Misty. "It's just, how does the kid Ash Ketchum end up with a girl. So out of character."

"But you know," began Dawn, and all eyes moved to her, "it has been over five years since we last saw him and it's not like we all haven't changed a lot in that time too." Dawn sighed, looking at the ceiling for a moment. "At least, I know I have changed a lot. I suppose it's not that farfetched for Ash to have found himself someone." Everyone just looked at her blankly and she sighed. "Oh alright, it's absolutely impossible. Sorry Ash I tried to defend you..."

"So we ask her when she comes back," said Anabel to the group at large.

Cynthia shook her head at the whole thing and said, "So, Scott, it's pretty obvious that you've been in contact with Ash. I was wondering If you knew when he was planning on showing up. Hopefully before dark?"

Scott scratched his chin with a frown. "To be honest, I really couldn't say. It's true that I have been in contact with him. I actually was talking to him this morning before I went to go pick up Miranda there." He shrugged his shoulders and said, "As far as when he will show up, I don't know, however," he motioned to Miranda's still empty seat, "Ash did tell her that he would come to the party, and despite the fact that I've only been around them together a few times I know that he doesn't lie to her, nor make promises he can't keep."

Scott smiled and shook his head at himself. Clapping his hands together, he said, "Well then, Ash aside, it's time for me to give my speech." Miranda had finally reemerged from the hallway and was making her way back to the table.

"Ah, what's up? Did I miss something?" she asked.

"Nope, not a thing," said Anabel, chickening out at once. Everyone else sweatdropped but said nothing.

As Scott made his way to the front of the restructured seating area, everyone who had been milling around filed into seats waiting for the mystery to be solved. Miranda was unhappy that Ash hadn't shown up yet, however she sat up and focused. She knew that Ash would be unhappy that he missed this, but she would fill him in when he arrived.

'After he gets mobbed by everyone here that is,' Miranda thought with a smirk.

Scott reached his place and looked at the group of people at large. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. Half the crowd looked around quickly. It was difficult to get used to the rapid changes in the weather that Element was named for. Scott couldn't help but grin at them all.

"Well, I know it's a little bit belated, but first I'd just like to thank you all for coming to this party. I know that there is a lot going on in all of your heads and I also know that I am the cause of most of it so without further ado, allow me to clear everything up." Scott let out a breath of relief and said, "Alright, and from now on I'm going to be talking like a normal person. All that lofty lingo makes me tired." At this many in the group laughed and the heavy, serious atmosphere of a moment ago lightened considerably.

"So," he continued cheerfully, "there's a lot that we can talk about so what do you want to know first?"

"Why are we having this party?" asked Whitney, Leader of the Goldenrod Gym.

"That's actually a good place to start," said Scott nodding. Looking at the crowd he said, "Essentially, there are two main reasons for this party. The first is that there is information about the tournament that you all need to be informed of before it begins." Scott was interrupted by Falkner, Violet City Gym Leader.

"Couldn't we have each been told through mail or something?" he said flatly. "I mean I don't know about everyone else but I-" Falkner was cut off as Whitney, who was sitting in front of him, turned around and shot him a dangerous look. "I, uhh, never mind, Scott. Please continue," he said after a moment. He sunk back into his chair and shivered at Whitney who beamed at him and faced forward again.

"...Right, anyway," Scott continued as if that had not just happened, "the other reason that I organized this party is that I just wanted everyone to get together and have a good time. Get togethers like this never happen these days and it just depresses me, you know?"

"Actually, Scott," said Noland, chuckling, "to be honest, your second reason makes way more sense coming from you than the first one does," at which many laughed in agreement. Noland crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair saying, "However, now that that's out of the way, why did you completely hide the fact that you appointed an eighth Brain?"

"And why won't you tell anyone, let alone us, who it is?" asked Lucy. The rest of the Brains each nodded or made sounds of agreement with the two questions. Heavy rain now hit the front windows of the Center. Scott looked at them all and sighed slightly.

"It's all for the sake of the tournament," he said evenly. "You all saw that interview, so you all know what I said on the matter. Just think of how everyone in the tournament is going to approach each opponent now." Seeing that his meaning wasn't becoming clear to most of them, Scott persisted, "By revealing to the world that there is an unknown person with unknown Pokemon with an unknown strength that is at least as good as any of the other Frontier Brains, and that this person is entering the tournament, I planted the seed of potential! Well in an ideal world of course..."

"You're saying," said Cynthia, her voice carrying over every person clearly. "that by telling everyone, including us, that there is an unknown Frontier Brain in the competition, whenever we are battling someone we won't help but wonder, 'Is that the Eighth?'. While it may intimidate some trainers, the vast majority will probably attack every battle as if they were facing the Eighth, simply because it is possible their opponent is the Eighth. In an ideal world, as you've said."

"Precisely, Cynthia. Couldn't have said it better myself. I know it won't work perfectly, but it'll make a difference and that's what I was going for," said Scott, happy that someone was able to get the meaning across to the group.

"Somehow, putting everyone through a certain amount of grief just to make a tournament better is just so something you'd do," said Brandon, letting out a rare sigh of exasperation. A few in the group grinned.

"Why thank you," said Scott, completely not offended.

"So when will we find out who this stranger is?" asked Anabel.

"Well," said Scott, considering his thoughts, "the eighth will probably be the only person you all don't know who makes it to the finals."

"Huu. That's some pretty high confidence you have there."

Everyone looked around to the source of the unknown voice. Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and a tall figure wrapped in a dark cloak and a very large hood which concealed his face, had just come out of one of the hallways leading out of the main lobby. The person's cloak dripped water everywhere. Whoever he was he had clearly just been outside. The three stopped and the hooded man turned to the others saying,

"Thank you both so much for helping me get here. Without you two, I probably would have been in very hot water, no pun intended," he added, shaking his cloak. Nurse Joy smiled.

"It's no problem at all, plus weren't you the one to help us in the first place?" said Officer Jenny as Nurse Joy nodded in agreement.

"Don't forget to give your Pokemon a good rest before the tournament starts," said Nurse Joy, and nodding, she led Officer Jenny back into the hall which they had entered through, leaving the hooded man alone. He faced the group of silent people who were all staring at him without even the sound of breathing. Then, taking the entire group aback, the stranger lifted his right arm and waved at them all saying awkwardly,

"Uhh, hey guys! Long time no see!"

Miranda bounded over to the man, giggling despite herself, and said, "Have you been wearing that hood long enough that you forgot when you're wearing it?"

"Huh? Oh! You're right, Miranda. That's kinda embarrassing actually..." In a grand movement the man shed his cloak, throwing it aside in a heap, revealing a grinning face and a bright yellow Pokemon hanging onto his shoulder. His grin widened as the Pikachu jumped into Miranda's arms with a happy cry. He looked at the mass of old friends before him, and struck a pose.

"The Mighty Ash Ketchum returns!"

**Five minutes, one dog pile, and fifty some-odd hugs later...**

Ash finally took a seat in the center of the group. His head still spun from the chaos of trying to survive the past few minutes. It was not as if he wasn't happy to see everyone. On the contrary it took Ash a huge amount of willpower not to jump around the crowd like a hot potato as Pikachu had done. If Brandon hadn't reminded the group what they had been in the middle of, Ash probably would have still been trying to fend off dozens of them.

"Thanks for that," Ash said to Brandon as he took his nearby seat.

Brandon turned to him and said, "I'll be honest; chaos doesn't really suit me." Ash chuckled at which Brandon added, "And we were in the middle of something really important."

"Yeah I heard. So what did I miss?" Ash asked. Miranda appeared with Pikachu in her arms and sat down beside Ash. She sat down beside him and said softly,

"Don't worry, I'll fill you in when this is over. We just finished the first part anyway."

"Great. Thanks, Mira," said Ash. She smiled at him and returned her attention to Scott. Looking around, Ash discovered that a number of his friends were eying him and Miranda very closely. What was with them?

"Well then," said Scott after the last person was seated, "now that Ash is finally here, this makes all my guests present and accounted for. Once again thank you all for coming." He took a deep breath and said, "Now, getting back to the discussion, this next part is essentially the rules of the tournament. Now before anyone says anything," Scott said quickly, for he could see some people about to speak up, "I know the majority of you all know the rules because every person who is competing received a booklet with them when they registered for the tournament. However, there are special rules regarding the Pokemon League Officials that are competing."

At Scott's last statement, hushed muttering broke out throughout the crowd. Pressing on, Scott continued, "For various reasons that I will explain if asked, many rules have been created with the sole purpose of making this tournament as challenging and as exciting as possible. So basically what I'm saying is that a portion of the tournament is rigged, though not in a dark way," he added laughing.

"What do you mean, Scott?" asked Cynthia. "Just tell us specifically what you are referring to."

"Excellent; straight to it then," said Scott clapping his hands together. He held up one finger. "First, as you should know, the tournament begins with two preliminary rounds where each run by a point-win system. Essentially you battle one on one with a large number of trainers and accumulate points by winning. You need to amass three wins to make it to the next round. There are an enormous number of trainers entered in this tournament so it is necessary. We might even add an extra round if it doesn't cut it down enough for whatever reason. That aside, Pokemon League Officials, meaning all of you, do not take part in the preliminaries. The first battles you all will be having will be during Round One of the tournament. Just think of yourself as seeded competitors."

Scott raised a second finger. "Second, the tournament bracket has been rigged so that none of you will fight each other for at least one round." At this, there was a burst of commotion.

"That's pushing it, Scott," said Ash over everyone else. "I know it wouldn't be that fun if the Elite Four from each region knocked each other out, but still, messing with who battles who isn't right."

"We were aware of that when we thought up the rules to this tournament on day one," Scott said. "Just bear with it. That's as far as it goes in that respect. After the first round of the tournament it's all up in the air." The crowd calmed after a minute and Scott continued, raising a third finger.

"Third, I just want you all to know that once it gets to the last handful of rounds, things will change. Match rules will be determined randomly for some rounds." Scott scratched his chin then said, "One last thing, before I take questions, you should all be aware of the fact that no information about competitors' Pokemon will be released to anyone during the course of the tournament. You are required to register the Pokemon you use for each match, however the only trainer who's Pokemon line up you will know with one hundred percent accuracy is your own. It's much more challenging that way isn't it?" Scott was smiling at the group.

"Oh, and Cynthia," said Scott, "in the very unlikely event that you do lose to a trainer, your title and position will not be revoked. For you to lose the title of Champion, you have to be officially challenged to a Title Match by an eligible trainer. Same goes to the other Champions in the competition."

"Thanks, Scott. I feel much better now knowing that," she responded dryly, at which a wave of laughter broke out.

"Just doing my job. So are there any questions about anything?" asked Scott, who pulled a cleared table over and sat on it, resting his feet.

As people in the group moved toward Scott, Ash turned to Miranda and said, "So what part did I miss?"

Miranda opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Anabel who said sarcastically, "Nothing, too important. Just the bit about the end of Scott's interview from the other day."

"Oh, well I was just curious," said Ash with a shrug, completely missing the sarcasm. He looked up to see the group of friends that had gathered around him looking at him with surprised faces.

"What? Did I miss something here or not?" said Ash apprehensively. Miranda sighed at the group and said to Ash,

"What they weren't expecting was that you actually didn't see the interview that Scott gave about the tournament recently." Miranda stood up and finished, "Long story short, Scott officially added an eighth Brain to the Battle Frontier." Ash jumped out of his seat and said excitedly,

"No way, after all this time! So who is it? Come on guys, tell me!"

The group remained silent for a moment then Brock said flatly, "Well to be honest, we all had a feeling that it was you." Ash looked at Brock with raised eyebrows.

"I guess I see where you're all coming from. Maybe I am." Eyes bored into his. Ash laughed, scratching his head. "I have been, well, out of touch with the rest of the world for the past five years you know, right? It's not as if I left it with something positive to remember my by anyway," he said. "Plus, why don't you know who it is?" Ash added, looking at Anabel. She sighed.

"I guess it really isn't you is it," she mused, at which Ash shrugged. "Well anyway, Scott didn't tell anyone who it is because he wants us all to be aware of the fact that there is an unknown Frontier Brain entering in the tournament and it could be anyone."

"What a way to keep everyone on their toes," Ash said, shaking his head in amusement.

"So what have you been doing all this time? Don't try to dodge the question either," the group around him clearly was not about to let him leave, "because we'll stop you."

"Just five years and look at what wonderful people you've all become," Ash said sarcastically, holding up his hands to show that he wouldn't try to run. "I've just been training."

"...training. I see," said May rolling her eyes at Dawn who giggled. "So how did it go?"

"Okay, okay, I was training while traveling all over the world. I stuck to areas that weren't on maps. Hey," he said, annoyed at the skeptical looks he was getting, "it's not like when I did leave I was by myself. I was helping out Cynthia for about half a year before I started exploring the unknown. Brock taught me a lot about the stuff he did for us when we were out challenging the gyms. Even learned how to cook." Ash realized that he had unintentionally placed Brock and Cynthia in hot water just after he finished speaking. Everyone was glaring at Brock and Cynthia who wore identical guilty expressions.

"Stop glaring guys, it's not that big of a deal, though speaking of big deals..." Ash turned to Max. "Max, you're a Pokemon trainer now aren't you?"

"Yeah! I have two Pokemon; Treecko and Slakoth," said Max with excitement.

"Wait, but what ever happened to that Ralts we ran into in Hoenn years ago?" asked Ash, frowning. "I thought that you were going to make him your first Pokemon."

Max looked at the floor sadly. "You're right about that," he said softly. "We went back to the area where Ralts lived right before I turned ten to find him, but he wasn't anywhere. We didn't even see the other two. I mean, it's kinda silly to think that after almost three years they would still be in the same place and that no one would have captured him." Max shook his head quickly and looked up into Ash's face. "But I'm never gonna give up on looking for him!" Max had a fierce determination in his eyes. Ash grinned and put a hand on Max's shoulder.

"I'll keep an eye out as well for ya, Max," he said. Max smiled.

"Thanks, Ash."

xxx

People had begun to leave around that time, bidding each other good luck in the tournament or making plans to meet on a later date. Eventually only about a dozen people were left; Ash's closest friends there.

"It's time for me to head out," said Misty, yawning and looking at the time. "I'm actually pretty tired. It's been hectic lately, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Brock. "Did you say bye to Ash?"

"Yep, I already did so no need to bother him now. He looks pretty into what they're talking about too," said Misty, looking over at Ash who was talking to Maylene and Cynthia intently.

"I'll see you around then," said Brock. Misty gave Brock a hug then walked out into the late, though still bright, evening. Brock watched her disappear then walked back to the only group of people remaining. At the heart of the group was Ash, Maylene, and Cynthia. Miranda stood behind Ash listening to their conversation. Lance and Clair sat nearby them. Dawn, May, Max, and Norman had left right before Misty had, making the group small.

"What's going on?" Brock asked Miranda, looking at the trio.

"They're just talking training strategies, I'm not so sure why they are so excited about it..." she said shrugging. "Ah, here comes Scott." Ash and the rest of the group walked over to meet him. He was accompanied by Nurse Joy.

"I think it's about time to break this party up," said Scott.

"Unfortunately, the Pokemon Center has to go back to being a Pokemon Center," she said smiling at them all. "Rest well and good luck in the tournament."

Maylene, Lance, and Clair all said their goodbyes and headed off to their tournament housing, Maylene catching a ride on Lance's Dragonite. As the heavy rain had completely cleared up, Ash, Miranda, Brock, and Cynthia all walked back to Miranda's apartment, deciding to socialize for a little while longer because it was so close to the Center. They had said their goodbyes to Scott at the Pokemon Center.

"I have some business to attend to here before I head back to HQ," he had said to the group as they were about to depart.

"But what about your jeep?" asked Miranda.

"Ash, Cynthia, and Brock are going to use it to get to wherever each of them are staying. Don't worry about it, I'll get it back in the end," Scott said laughing and waving at the group as they left.

When they arrived at Miranda's apartment all four collapsed in various places, more tired than they had thought they were. Miranda and Cynthia were sitting on the bed and Brock had made his way to the comfy chair Miranda sometimes relaxed in. Ash had abandoned all thought and just lay down on the floor in the middle of the room.

"What a day," he said after a moment of silence. "It was really great seeing everyone again. I'm so glad Scott invited the girls and Max for me. Of course at the time he had only told me that it was a reunion party." Ash laughed. "I guess he duped us all in one way or another today."

"No kidding," said Brock.

Cynthia gave a tired chuckle and said, "Sorry Miranda, I know we just met earlier, but do you mind if I crash here tonight. I can't see myself making it back to where I am staying." She turned to face Miranda. "I hope you don't mind...?" Cynthia broke off. Miranda was fast asleep on her back, the corners of her mouth turned up in the ghost of a smile. Cynthia couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for the cute sleepyhead. She smiled sleepily and laid back.

"I guess not."

"I'm going to head back to my place. Coming Brock?" said Ash after a minute, standing. Brock patted the keys in his pocket.

"Yeah, be nice to catch up."

"I'll meet you downstairs then," said Ash, walking into the bathroom. He splashed water on his face, staring at his reflection. It was good seeing everyone again, though he felt worn out. He had wondered if they might have forgotten him after he was away for so long, but his fears turned out to be empty. Thinking back to his old traveling companions he couldn't help but grin. They really had grown. Especially the girls. Though it was nice to finally have height on them all. Finishing up quickly he came back out to find both girls asleep on the bed. Miranda was still lying on her back, her feet dangling off the edge of the bed, shoes on the floor in a small pile. Moving to the bed Ash flipped the light switch on the wall, darkening the room. Street light from the window allowed him so still see. He bent over and moved a lock of hair out of Miranda's face. "Sleep well, Mira." Suddenly he was aware of that fact that he was being watched. Cynthia was lying down on her side, looking at him with an expression he couldn't read. The light framed her figure sharply against the darkness.

"No goodnight kiss?" she said softly.

"She's not a little girl," he said quietly.

"I wasn't talking about for her..."

Ash swallowed nervously. Why was she looking at him like that? Panicking slightly he quickly went to the door.

"I'll turn the heat up a bit so you won't get cold," he said, fiddling with a dial on the wall before glancing back one last time. Cynthia was lying down with her back to him, waves and waves of long blond hair gleaming slightly in the light. Ash sighed inwardly; had he imagined it?

Cynthia heard the door click shut behind her but didn't move. Her hands were in front of her red face, eyes closed tightly. For the love of... what the hell was she _thinking?_


	3. Preliminary Revelations

**Somewhere north of Snowport**

_It's cold._

A lone woman shivered and drew her cloak closer to her body. Her soft breathing produced small clouds on the air which dissipated as they rose into the sky. Hugging herself under her cloak, she gazed at the sky which was lightly producing snow. Soft footsteps marked by the crisp crunch of freshly fallen snow brought the woman out of her thoughts; however, she continued to gaze at the sky, seemingly entranced by the falling snow.

"It's not good to stand outside for too long once the snow starts up, Young Lady," said a wizened voice. She turned to the source of the voice to find herself looking at an elderly man bundled up in a fluffy coat and leaning on a cane. He was giving her a cheerful smile and continued, "Why don't you come and warm up by the fire at my home." He looked at the sky then said, "It may look pretty now, but I've been around a long time and I can tell that it's going to get very unpleasant outside in a short while." Turning around, the old man began to walk off down the road. Not stopping, he called, "Follow me, Young Lady; I'll have my granddaughter make you something hot to drink."

The woman took one last look at the sky. Her blue, ice-like eyes seemed to mirror the nature around her. Then she turned and fell into step behind the old man.

"Grandfather, how many times do I have to tell you not to go for walks right before the weather is about to get bad!"

"Ahh, Sarah, will you forgive this old man for enjoying the beauties of nature?" the old man said, smiling at the young woman who was frowning at him with her hands on her hips. She hesitated for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. "Anyway, Sarah, we have a guest for the time being."

Sarah looked in the direction of the front door and saw that indeed there was another person standing there. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said hurriedly motioning for the guest to come further inside and closing the door behind her. "My name is Sarah, and this is my grandfather, Ernest," she said, bowing her head and motioning to her grandfather. The guest was silent for a moment then pushed back her hood, releasing a cascade of silvery hair. She bowed slightly then said,

"Thank you for taking me in. My name is Neliell. Please, call me Nel."

Five minutes later, Nel and her hosts were chatting around a knee high table situated in front of the fireplace which radiated pleasant warmth. Pausing to take a sip of her drink, Nel's gaze rested on a nearby window, through which she could see the snow falling hard and whipping around in the strong wind. Though she had been traveling in the area for nearly a month, the suddenness of the blizzards still surprised her. Returning her attention to Sarah, who was currently scolding her laughing grandfather, Nel smiled at the pair. Ernest drained his cup, then asked, "So Nel, I've been meaning to ask you, what are you doing all the way up here? Where you heading to?"

"Grandfather, it's none of our business and it's rude to pry," quipped Sarah, who gave Nel an apologetic look.

"No, it's fine. I don't mind telling you," said Nel. "Actually, maybe you could help me out a bit. I figured it was about time to ask for some directions anyway."

"In that case, where are you trying to get to?" asked Sarah.

"Well, I really wanted to go to the place that the big Pokemon tournament is being held. I've never been there before. But…" Nel stopped looking slightly embarrassed.

"So you're lost," Ernest said flatly. Nel nodded, at which Ernest began laughing again. Quickly stopping after Sarah began to raise her fist, Ernest continued, "Ah I'm sorry about that just now. I couldn't help it though because this place is quite far from where you what to get to. Unless you take a plane or one of those new fangled airships from somewhere big you're talking about miles and miles of roads, and sea to cross. The tournament has already started you know."

"Yes, I realize that there isn't much chance of me making it there before it ends, but the chance still exists just the same," Nel said determinedly.

"Don't worry about a thing, Nel, we'll help you out," said Sarah, "Or at least we'll point you in the right direction," she corrected herself with a sigh. "There isn't really anything we can do as far as transportation help, but directions yes."

Ernest, who had just gotten up to refill his cup, called from the kitchen, "Hey, you two, come here. It looks like the weather isn't bad enough to mess up the signal this time. There's a report of the tournament on right now."

Nel and Sarah quickly moved into the kitchen and joined Ernest in front of the TV positioned on the only wall devoid of cabinets. Images of various battles were being shown behind two people sitting at a counter. To the left was a woman who was listing some information while on the right a man wearing sunglasses and a bright blue shirt was listening, waiting for her to finish.

"Hahaha. Even on TV, Scott dresses like a tourist," said Ernest with a smile. The reporter now turned to Scott.

"So tell us, Scott, the tournament has only been underway for about a week, however it is such a massive event that we couldn't help but want as much information as possible. As the main organizer of this event, I was hoping that you could tell the world what your feelings about this tournament are so far. Has everything gone according to plan?"

Scott thought for a moment, and then said, "Well I suppose it's a yes-and-no kind of a thing." The reporter looked somewhat taken aback at this. Scott smiled and continued, "You see, I knew right from the beginning that there would be some things about this tournament that I wouldn't be happy about. To get right down to it, the only thing about this tournament that I am not happy about is the fact that because there are so many trainers competing, it is very easy to pass by unrecognized, especially during the preliminary rounds." Scott faced the screen, now speaking directly to the viewers.

"What I mean is that there will be trainers that compete and lose during this tournament who will not be truly recognized for their skill by the world at large. This is why I wanted to make sure to say to the world that every trainer in this tournament is already officially considered elite in the world of Pokemon. I just want to make sure that those who are eliminated during any given round are known for making it to that round and not for failing to make it to the one above."

"But, now that I've said that, is there anything specific that you wanted me to comment on about the tournament so far?" asked Scott, smiling as if he had not just appealed directly to the soul of the Pokemon world.

"Ah, yes, I do," said the reporter quickly, regaining her composure. "First, I was wondering if you could give us your take on the various trainers that have been battling. Because the Preliminary rounds are the longest and it is the beginning of the tournament, what do you feel will determine victory for battles between such powerful trainers and their Pokemon?"

"In my opinion, the Preliminary rounds are easily the most challenging for any given trainer," said Scott. "Unlike the later rounds of a tournament where there is a long, challenging battle against a clear and known opponent, the Preliminary rounds are a series of short battles against many unknown opponents. Trainers who advance to the main tournament will be the ones who show how adaptable they are in various situations as well as their strength in facing the unknown. For example, one on one battles usually feature a trainer's strongest or near strongest Pokemon regardless of the situation, because you only get one chance in that battle. I know for a fact that if I was competing and my first opponent of the day throws out a Dragonite, I would definitely feel less confident than I had five seconds ago."

Scott took a breath then concluded, "Basically, the Preliminaries do their job excellently in preparing those who advance for what awaits."

"Well it looks like our time is up today, but I can assure you all that there will be many more of these in the very near future. My name is-"

Sarah shut the TV and leaned against the table. "You look pretty excited, Nel," she said.

"Oh I am. As soon as the weather improves I'll set off," Nel replied. "You both have been so kind to me. I wish there was some way that I could repay you..."

"... Actually..." Nel looked at Ernest in confusion. "One moment, please," he said and he left the kitchen. Nel and Sarah looked at each other and Nel could tell that Sarah didn't know what was going on either. They waited in silence for a few minutes when Ernest returned with a small envelope.

Ernest looked at Nel then said, "Nel, I would like to request your help with something. You are free to decline. Also, we do not want you to feel as if you owe us anything for sheltering you today. We were just doing what we wanted to." He smiled for a moment then continued, "You are traveling to Element City where the tournament is taking place as we speak, but I will tell you now that it is very far away." Ernest took a breath. "And so, because of that distance, I would like you to do us a favor. My grandson, Sarah's brother Corey, is competing in the tournament. If you happen to meet him then could you give him this letter?"

"Of course," said Nel. "What does he look like?"

"Actually, he's been gone from home for so long that any description of him would hinder you rather than help," apologized Ernest. "Most likely you won't meet him, but just in case you do..."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep an eye out," said Nel. The weather had died down as fast as it had started. It was time for her to leave.

Retrieving her cloak, Nel led the group outside into the road. The snow was only a few inches thick.

Standing in the middle of the road Nel turned to face her two new friends and said, "Okay, so which way do I go?"

Ernest scratched his chin then began, "Well, first you want to head south down this road for a while till you get to Snowport. Then you're going to have to get transportation to go further south. Once you do that-"

"Ah sorry," Nel interrupted, "but actually it would be best if you could just point straight to where Element City would be from here."

Baffled, Ernest and Sarah traded looks. "Well, Element Island is east of the Kanto region so I'd say, that way?" Sarah pointed southeast. "But there's no way I could be directly pointing at Element. You'll have to stop to keep checking."

"That won't be a problem, thanks!" Nel's free hand disappeared inside her cloak for a moment then appeared holding a small red and white ball. "Time to fly!" she cried and threw the pokeball.

xxx

Sarah watched Nel's figure shrink as she sped away on the back of her Pokemon. "Did she ever say that she was a Pokemon trainer?" She turned to face her grandfather, who was now walking back to the house.

"Nope."

**Meanwhile...Element City**

"Gah! I'm booooooored."

"Oh for crying out loud, if you're so bored then go train or eat or something ya damn monkey!"

"Hey guys, we're here! Oh wait, there's people missing."

"Brock! Thank god!" Misty looked like she was inches from snapping. She jerked her head at May and Max, who were arguing with each other loudly. Sighing, Brock walked over to the quarreling siblings and tapped them to get their attention. Misty sighed in relief. She knew that Brock would be able to calm them down. Dawn, who had arrived with Brock, looked at them questioningly.

"Don't ask," said Misty flatly, rubbing her head. Dawn giggled looking around.

"Sorry. Where is Miranda? Is she not here yet?" she asked Misty.

"Nope," she answered shortly. They both sat down with the rest of the group. They had decided to pick a different stadium each day and watch the Preliminary battles held there. When Ash had asked if they were going to come to see his battles he didn't look surprised at all when they told him their plan. On the contrary, it was the group that was surprised when Ash said that it was a good idea.

"It's just not as exciting without everyone from that party," May said suddenly at which Max countered,

"Well, it's not like we were all buddy-buddy with them in the first place so it's not surprising at all that it's just us hanging out."

"I'm still really glad that Scott was kind enough to invite us," said Dawn, at which the other two nodded their agreement.

"There you all are," said a voice. The group turned to find themselves face to face with Scott who was flanked by a few people dressed casually, but were obviously officials of some sort.

"Before you say anything, just know that it's a coincidence," he said quickly seeing the curious looks he was getting. "I passed Miranda a little while ago and she told me that you all were in here. Oh, she also told me to let you know that she has to go take care of something today and she'll see you all tomorrow."

"Thanks, Scott," said Brock, "but what are you doing here?" Scott and his group took seats in front of Brock. Turning back to face him, Scott explained,

"Well, because I'll be doing interviews and giving commentary for the tournament every other day, I'm watching the battles and keeping an eye out for anything interesting."

"I see," said Brock nodding.

"By the way," Scott said, now raising his voice slightly to get everyone's attention, "have any of you been to Ash's Prelims?"

They all shook their heads. "No, we're kinda doing this at random. Why?" asked May.

Scott grinned as he turned to face the trainers who were now taking their positions on the various battlefields.

"Well... they're interesting..."

xxx

"Scyther is unable to battle! The winner is Pikachu! Victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

The people in the section of the stadium that was closest to his particular match cheered as Ash and Pikachu waved their thanks to the crowd. He left the arena and went back to the large waiting room where a large number of trainers waited to be called for their battles. Ash made to leave but stopped as he heard his name being called. He turned to find his recent opponent coming towards him.

"Ah, glad I caught up to you," he said slightly out of breath. He straightened himself then held out his hand which Ash shook. "Sorry, I just wanted to congratulate you. You are a very good trainer and your Pikachu is very strong." Ash looked at the slightly embarrassed boy with raised eyebrows. Seeing this, the boy said, "Actually, I used to be one of your fans before you disappeared and I guess I kind of lost faith in your abilities but-"

"Hahaha, don't worry about it," said Ash, finally understanding what was going on. "You aren't bad yourself at all you know. The way that you handle your Pokemon shows that you treat them well and train them hard. Though, one thing that could help you out a lot is trusting your gut a bit more than you do."

"My gut?"

"Well yeah, you know how when your in a situation and you have to act sometimes it's hard to choose what to do between the immediate response which may seem reckless, and the second or other choice that involves some actual thought. I know from experience that it isn't a good thing to just go with whatever comes to your mind all the time, but over thinking can be just as bad. There were a couple times in that battle that you hesitated and Pikachu took advantage of it." Ash pointed his thumb at the Pokemon on his shoulder who imitated it.

"Ah you're right, maybe I should try not to over think everything. Thank you, Ash." They shook hands again at which the boy sped off. Ash shook his head.

"Heh, I didn't even get his name. Oh well." Ash walked outside and stretched, yawning. Pikachu hopped off of his shoulder and ran off to a nearby fountain. Ash followed him to a familiar face.

"So I take it you won again?" said Miranda who was scratching a happy Pikachu behind his ears. Ash sat down next to her with another yawn.

"Yep, sure did. But aren't you supposed to be watching random people with the rest of the group?" he asked.

Miranda lowered her head guiltily. "Yeah you caught me. I told them I was busy today so I'd see them tomorrow."

Ash looked at her thoughtfully. "Do you not like them?" he asked. She stood up, Pikachu in her arms.

"It's not that I don't like them. They're just not you."

"I suppose. How about we go somewhere to eat lunch then. I'm starving." Miranda nodded.

"As long as there isn't a large crowd," she agreed, moving closer to him as they began to make their way away from the stadium. There were tons of people around. "I've been here for a while but I'm still not used to this... it makes me a bit nervous."

It was mid afternoon when they returned to Miranda's apartment. As a competitor, Ash was given a place to live much closer to the stadiums, however sometimes he found it hard to relax when he was there. Though Miranda's place was distinctly farther away, it looked and felt pleasantly lived in. Upon reaching the right floor, they found someone waiting for them by the door.

"Cynthia, what are you doing here?" Miranda asked curious. Cynthia gave a small start and looked up.

"Oh I was hoping I'd be able to catch you here, though it was a long shot I'll admit," she said happily. Miranda let them all into the apartment and Cynthia took a seat on the bed. "I don't have any contact information for either of you after all."

"There's a land line in this place," said Ash. "Do you ever use it, Miranda?"

"Of course not, who would I call?" she replied, now digging through a closet. "The number of this place is next to the phone though if you want it."

"Are you two... going somewhere?" asked Cynthia, taking down the number and returning to watching Ash and Miranda move about. The younger girl walked over to her dresser where she began rummaging around for something.

"Yeah, we're going to a spot that apparently no one knows about outside of town. Going to go let off some energy; get away from the crowds." Ash paused and glanced at Miranda who had just emerged from the dresser with a tight bundle of clothing. Making a decision he said to Cynthia, "Why don't you come with us."

"What?" said Miranda, surprised. "But aren't you in the middle of something?" Ash and Cynthia looked over at the girl who suddenly remembered how they had found Cynthia. "Oh, yeah I guess not."

Raising an eyebrow suspiciously, Cynthia nodded. "Sure, I'd like the break."

Ash walked into the kitchen and grabbed some fruit off of the table. "Cynthia, can you grab a blanket out of the closet?" he called over his shoulder.

"Uh, alright," she said, walking over to the closet. She found a spare blanket on a shelf. Ash and Miranda were waiting for her, not by the door, but in the center of the room.  
Joining them she asked, "Ready to go?"

"Let's go Ash," said Miranda. She gave Cynthia a look then sighed and said quickly, "You probably want to close you eyes."

"Close my eyes?" Cynthia asked confused. "Wait, what do you mea-" Cynthia was cut short by Ash who only said one word.

"Teleport."

xxx

Moments later the three found themselves surrounded by lush grass and soft hills. Ash and Miranda looked at Cynthia who had fallen back onto her butt the moment they had landed.

"Ah... teleport..." she said weakly, still recovering from the trip. "How did we get teleported here? Where exactly is here anyway?"

"Well, as to where, we are about a couple hours east of the city. Miranda found this place while exploring last month," Ash explained, walking over to Cynthia and helping her up. "As to how, well..." he motioned to a figure that Cynthia had not noticed until now. It was a Gardevoir. The Pokemon was looking directly into Cynthia's eyes and she found herself unable to look away, simply gazing right back into the pools of deep red. Ash continued, ignoring the staring contest, "Anyway, Gardevoir's the one who teleported us all over here. Taking others with her uses a lot more energy so be sure to thank her." Ash bent to pick up the blanket that Cynthia had dropped then unfolded it and held it up to screen Miranda who was changing quickly. "And you couldn't have done this before we left could you, we're not exactly on the road anymore," he said to the blanket. "Hurry up my arm is cramping."

"Drop it and I'll kill you," Miranda said cheerfully.

Ash shook his head tiredly but still tightened his grip on the blanket. Watching them, Cynthia realized that she had stopped looking into the Gardevoir's eyes at some point. "Umm, sorry about that. Thanks for bringing me here as well," Cynthia said, noticing that the Gardevoir was still looking at her. It blinked twice then lowered its head ever so slightly in the shadow of a nod, which made Cynthia wonder if she had just imagined it.

_"You are welcome."_

"Ghaa!" Cynthia looked around quickly for the source of the voice that had resonated in her head, however she already knew where it had come from. Cynthia automatically took a step back and tripped only to stop midway through her fall, held by an invisible force.

"Oh nice catch, Gardevoir," said Ash, coming over to the two of them as Cynthia was placed back on her feet. Gardevoir moved slightly closer to Cynthia.

_"I apologize for startling you,"_ Cynthia heard in her mind.

"Not at all," said Cynthia automatically.

"Why don't we all sit down before you fall down again," said Ash. They walked over to the blanket which was now spread on a fairly flat piece of ground. Miranda was laying on her back hands behind her head, looking at the cloudless sky and smiling happily. Ash couldn't help but smile too. It had been quite a while since the last time Miranda got to do something like this wearing her tribe's clothing. Miranda sat up as the other three made themselves comfortable.

"Miranda those cloths are really nice, where are they from?" Miranda stood up so that Cynthia could see them better. They were not flashy or made of expensive material. They were nothing like the outfit that she wore before she left the village, which she remembered Ash calling something like a tribal bathing suit, but they still exposed almost all of her tattoos which was the reason that she didn't wear it in public. Starting at her feet, Miranda was wearing sandals that tied around her ankles. Next was a durable looking skirt that stopped a few inches above her knees. Her top was a close fitting sleeveless shirt that came just short of her bellybutton. As she turned around, Cynthia noticed that a portion of the back of the top was cut away, though it was mostly covered by her long brown hair.

"I should apologize," said Miranda softly, finally taking a seat. "When we first met, you wanted to know if I was a descendent of the Eon Tribe and I said I wasn't sure. I'm not that comfortable talking about it with strangers, so I wasn't truthful. Sorry," she finished, head bowed.

"So that means you are a descendent of the Eon Tribe?" said Cynthia. "I guess that would make what you're wearing their garb?" Ash watched the exchange with interest. It was unusual for Miranda to be so open with someone she just met.

"Well sort of. This is a slightly modified version of what was worn during the colder months of the year. It's modified because I've had the sleeves removed." Cynthia sat silent for a moment then smiled.

"That also means you don't consider me a stranger." Miranda looked up, a smile making its way onto her face.

"No, I suppose I don't," she said cheerfully. Ash just rolled his eyes. In what fantasy were friendships actually started like this. Miranda, sat back down and scooped something into her lap. It was her pokeballs. Cynthia wasn't surprised to see them at all; she had figured that Miranda was a Pokemon trainer to begin with.

"I have eight Pokemon with me," said Miranda. She expertly held one pokeball between each of her fingers and showed Cynthia all eight. "Ash told me a while ago that Pokemon trainers are only allowed to carry six at any one time but I absolutely refuse to carry any six without the other two so in a way I guess you could say that I'm not really a Pokemon trainer. Well, not officially." She laughed then said, "So, care to guess what they are?" This time it was Cynthia who laughed.

"I have an idea but I think I'll wait to see them in person to be sure," she replied.

"Thought so. Well then, time for some fresh air!" Miranda threw all eight pokeballs up into the air releasing eight adorable Pokemon. Cynthia looked at the scene in wonder. It wasn't every day that a person was able to see the entire Eevee family all in one spot. Not to mention with a trainer who was had a tattoo representing each one.

"Look at that, Tribal Girl, you really do have every one of them," said Cynthia jokingly.

_"I'll admit, I did not see that one coming either,"_ came Gardevoir's voice. At this, Ash began to laugh so hard that he fell over. Miranda and Cynthia watched him blankly as his laughter subsided. 

"What?" he said defensively at their looks. "Oh come on, that was really funny." They stared at him uncomprehending. "Gardevoir are known as Pokemon that can see the future, and she said that she didn't see it coming and- for cryin' out loud you two, Gardevoir just told a joke!" Ash stopped when Gardevoir placed her hand on his shoulder, leaning against him momentarily, in a sign of affection. 

_"Do not let it agitate you,"_ came her voice. Ash looked at the two females in front of him sitting in a sea of Pokemon and talking intently. 

_"Did you not wish to train today?"_ Gardevoir's voice was directed only at him and he knew it. Ash leaned back and closed his eyes. He could hear Cynthia asking Miranda questions about her ancient culture and Pokemon. For once, Miranda wasn't shying away from the questions and was actually very engaged. Ash smiled. It was nice to have girls around for Miranda to talk to. Gardevoir tapped his head lightly, reminding him of her question. 

"I did, but this place is too nice to train in," he said softly. "I don't want to mess up somewhere she feels is special, anyway." Ash fell silent for a minute then added, "I'm going to take a nap for now. Pikachu ran off somewhere when we first got here and he isn't nearby, so could I ask you to find him for me and make sure he gets back here alright?" 

_"As you wish."_

__"In a few days, the real battles begin." Ash raised his hand in front of his face and clenched it. "And this time it's different!"_ _


	4. Round 1: Hyperbeam Anybody?

_Ash leaned against the wall of the corridor that led to the arena, enjoying the last few moments of relative peace before going out to the battlefield. He could hear the crowd quite clearly even though he was still a ways from the opening. He sighed softly. Having been away from such immense crowds of cheering people for so long was making him slightly nervous, but he knew that once he was out there he would be fine. Closing his eyes, Ash read the aura coming from all around him. After doing it so much during his training, reading the aura of his surroundings was now as second nature as breathing. Even if he couldn't hear the crowd, he could feel the presence of tens of thousands of people._

_"Let's go Pikachu!"_

_"Pi-ka!"_

**BOOM!**

The explosion practically rocked the stadium. A huge roar went up across the stands. Ash, who was currently enveloped in the dust cloud from the blast, smirked to himself at the crowd.

"I swear, they only cheer like that when something happens that makes it so they can't see anything," Ash said calmly. From the other end of the field, Ash could hear his opponent wasting no time waiting for visibility to return.

"Grrrr! It doesn't matter if we can't see it! Tyranitar, Sandstorm! Let's go!" At this the dust began to get drawn into the center of the field creating a huge twister. The wind force was incredible. Within a few seconds, the dust cloud had been completely absorbed by the twister that was now rising into the sky, dissipating. Ash glanced to his side and smiled seeing that Gardevoir was completely unharmed.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to catch her off guard," Ash said, pointing at Gardevoir with his thumb. His opponent, a trainer nicknamed Spike, was frustrated beyond measure. By teleporting all over the arena, Gardevoir easily avoided almost any attack directed at her. It would take a cool head and good planning to put her in a situation, both of which his opponent was lacking. Big time. They were currently both on their second Pokemon. Spike's first Pokemon had been a Steelix, a difficult opponent for Pikachu. Steelix was able to use the rocky arena well and put Pikachu at a complete disadvantage. Though Ash may have been able to manage a win in an easier League competition, the fact of the matter here was that unless a tiny Pokemon held a type advantage over an opposing huge Pokemon, chances of victory were slim to none.

As if predicting Ash's situation, the first round rules did not allow for substitutions. And so Ash and Pikachu did everything they could to weaken the Steelix, who's defense was one of the best Ash had ever seen. The moment when Pikachu had finally fallen, Ash felt the faintest worry begin to form in the back of his head. The crowd was largely cheering for Spike who was looking good with the first win practically handed to him. That had been total luck and Ash was now able to use a different Pokemon.

"You okay, buddy?" Ash asked Pikachu as he placed the completely worn out Pokemon off to the side and safely out of the way of any potential flying debris.

"Chu..." Pikachu said tiredly. Ash patted his head softly.

"Great job wearing him out, Pikachu. You just rest now," said Ash. He walked back to his centered position at the edge of the battlefield. Steelix stared down at him as he took his place. The sound of laughter from behind Steelix drew Ash's eyes to his opponent.

"I hope your next Pokemon will put up more of a fight than that mouse of yours did," Spike said arrogantly. "This is the IRC, you know."

Ash was silent. Choosing a pokeball from his belt, he threw it into the air and said two words.

"Crush him."

Before the empty pokeball had returned to his hand, the entire stadium rippled with shock by what they had just witnessed. Steelix was unconscious. Not only that, Steelix was flat on the ground, pressed several feet into the rocky arena floor, as if he had just been stepped on by a giant.

"St-Steelix is unable to battle! Gardevoir wins!" shouted the judge, who was also taken aback by the sudden attack. Gardevoir came to rest hovering inches the ground at Ash's side, eyes locked on her opponent. Spike's arrogant grin was wiped from his face instantly, replaced by a look of shock.

"What's wrong?" asked Ash coolly, giving Spike a level look. "This is the IRC, you know."

...And that had brought them to where they were now.

Apart from that one moment where he had lost control, Ash was staying very level-headed while he battled. As the fight became more and more drawn out, he began to get bored. Due to how the past years had worked out, it had been a long time since he had actually had fun during a battle.

Tyranitar suddenly faltered on the uneven ground and lost its balance. It stood back up but it was clear that the Pokemon was worn out from moving around constantly and vigorously for so long. Ash grinned. His plan had worked perfectly.

"Alright, Gardevoir, Energy Ball!" Ash cried. Gardevoir came to a stop in front of him and began quickly charging a shining sphere of green.

"As if I would let you!" Spike shouted, voice thick with anger. "Hyperbeam!" Spike roared. Tyranitar let loose a raging beam of white straight at Gardevoir and, because of where Gardevoir was standing, consequently Ash as well.

The screams and shouts from the stands were nothing in Ash's ears. In a moment that strangely seemed to last much much longer, all eyes watched as the beam closed the gap to the Pokemon and her trainer. Making up his mind in an instant, Ash directed a single thought to Gardevoir before taking action. The suddenness of the hyperbeam had left no time to dodge it, at least in his case.

Gardevoir skillfully maneuvered forward, dodging the beam by mere centimeters, and continued her attack. The energy ball had grown in size and intensity. Unable to move because it had just finished the Hyperbeam, Tyranitar was unable to defend against the attack and was instantly defeated. Yet despite being a display of amazing skill, not a single pair of eyes was even watching. The entire stadium, including the now horrified Spike, were staring at the explosion that had happened when the Hyperbeam had met and practically engulfed Ash.

The stadium was in chaos. At least, that's what the aura was telling him. Ash opened his eyes slowly and took in his surroundings. He was in a cloud of dust, but a strange one. Though he could see it swirling around him, he didn't feel any dust in the air. It was then that he noticed that he was within a small bubble like barrier. It was extremely thin, but it gave him about a foot of dustless air all around him.

_'That Pokemon... I knew I'd be alright, but she went and protected me a bit anyway. Well considering her nature, it's not like she would have listened in the first place... Ah, dammit!'_

Ash had just looked down at his clothes, which he now saw were in tatters. Luckily, his pants didn't have any holes in the wrong places, but his shirt was torn badly. On top of that, because he had crossed his arms to cover his face on instinct, the sleeves of his shirt were totally gone. Little bits of material were floating around in the wind. And his hat...!

Ash put his hand on top of his head and felt his unkempt hair. He groaned. Hopefully the hat hadn't been destroyed. As the screams suddenly escalated, Ash had a fleeting thought of his hat emerging from the dust alone without its owner and sighed. What a fiasco...

The dust was finally settling and Ash could start to make out the colorful stands. Wincing in pain, he stood up as a light gust of wind filled the arena, pushing the lingering cloud away from the battlefield. The stadium roared its relief and excitement when Ash emerged standing. Still recovering, he swayed slightly from the sudden sound, but a soft, green hand on his arm steadied him.

"Ahh thanks, Gardevoir," he said, grinning. A number of medics who had just arrived rushed over to Ash. "I'm fine," he said, before any one of them could get a word in edgewise. Turning to the judge Ash continued, "I'd like to keep battling, so let's continue." The judge held up his hand indicating for Ash to wait a moment. He was currently communicating with someone through his headset. He nodded then turned to face the stands.

"The battle will continue!" A roar met the judges words. Ash looked over as Spike and smiled.

"Shall we continue?"

XxxxX

The door of the hospital room burst open, making everyone in the room jump.

"Wait! Young lady, I told you, you can't go in there!" A lanky but surprisingly strong doctor grabbed Miranda, preventing her from going any further into the room. Ash made to sit up, but the nurse that was keeping an eye on him pushed him back onto the bed with a dangerous look. Defeated, Ash looked back at Miranda who was now glaring furiously at the frustrated doctor.

_"Let. Me. Go."_ Miranda growled, her teeth bared as if she would use them if he didn't. Before Ash could say anything however, his current visitor placed a hand on Miranda's shoulder and said to the doctor,

"It's quite all right, Doctor. I'll keep an eye on her so you don't have to think about it." Cynthia had finally stepped in before Miranda did anything reckless. She glanced at Cynthia before continuing her fierce gaze at the doctor.

"W-well, If you say so," the doctor said giving Miranda one last suspicious look. "However, this is the last visitor that I will allow! I don't care if it's the Commissioner himself!" At this the doctor left, closing the door behind him with a snap. The nurse sighed and stood up.

"Well, I'll make my exit as well. Ash, you'll be fine so long as you stop trying to get out of that bed and actually rest for a little while," she said as she walked to the door. Reaching the door, she turned and said to Miranda, "Just try to keep the energy to a minimum, alright? He's had a lot of visitors already."

Cynthia's smile vanished as soon as the door clicked shut. She rounded on Miranda, determined to fix the girl's behavior, though what ever she had planned on saying she forgot immediately.

WHAM!

"Dammit, Ash!" Miranda shouted. Another punch was absorbed by the pillow Ash was blocking with.. "You idiot! Why would you do something like that?" Ash avoided her gaze.

"Whatever happened to keeping the energy level to a minimum?" he said dryly. Miranda scowled, lowering her voice to normal levels.

"You didn't need to take that kind of a risk! I know that Gardevoir could have gotten you out of that situation. And you still haven't fully recovered from the past few months! You're supposed to be taking it easy."

"I wanted to make a statement," Ash said, meeting Miranda's eyes. He caught her hand before she could attack him again. "Let me explain," he said. Taking advantage of her silence Ash said, "I wanted everyone to know that using a trick like that won't always work. Everyone would naturally think that the Pokemon would take the hit to protect the trainer, but by taking that hit I think that no one will be willing to try it. In that way, it helped that it was a Hyperbeam."

"Well, though I still don't completely agree with the method, it is pretty noble of you to take a hit for the tournament," said Cynthia.

"Pretty noble? Are you serious?" Miranda said, voice raising rapidly with her temper. She didn't move from her position on the edge of the hospital bed, but Cynthia felt as if Miranda was squaring off to her face to face. "I can't believe you! He got really hurt and all you say is that he was being noble?" Cynthia looked shocked by Miranda's words.

"No," she retorted raising her voice as well, "that's not what I said! I meant-" but Miranda cut her off.

"Did you just come here to tell him he did a good job or something?"

"Wha-" Now Cynthia was getting mad. "Don't be ridiculous! Why are you freaking out so much, he's not going to die from something like that!" Ash tried to say something but he was overridden immediately.

"Arghh, just get out!" Ash and Cynthia stared at her astonished. Miranda was completely red faced.

"But-"

"I said leave! This room is for people who care about his well being, not his... his nobility or- or-" Miranda's voice died off in a stutter leaving the room silent for a long time until Cynthia turned abruptly and walked out, closing the door behind her sharply.

Cynthia stood with her back to the door, unmoving, breathing very deeply. The nerve of that girl! A few people passed her with questioning looks but after a minute she was alone in the hall. No sound came from within the room. The rooms in hospitals were well constructed with privacy in mind. Miranda had accused her of only being concerned with Ash's accomplishments, his "noble acts". Certainly, Cynthia cared about Ash doing well, but it went much deeper than that. It made her more mad than she could remember being for a long time. What was really making her upset now though was the fact that she had stormed out of the room like she was Miranda's age. At twenty-five Cynthia felt she had no excuse.

_'Damn girl! Of course I care about his well being, I was the first one here!'_

Indeed, while Ash had been relocated to the local hospital, she had been as close to the vehicle as humanly possible without actually being in the thing. Seeing him get hit with the attack had practically made her heart stop. It was just so... life had never seemed so complicated before. Years ago, Ash was an aspiring trainer and a friend who she knew had a good heart and a bright personality, if a little childish and naive at times. Now he looked like the young man he was, his eyes sometimes seeming to reflect an age beyond his years. He even had a good inch on her in height now and she wasn't exactly short to begin with! It was almost jarring the first time she saw him at the party. Just thinking about his changes were maddening.

Cynthia grumbled slightly. Whenever she was faced with a problem she looked it straight on and dealt with it. Yet since the start of the tournament things had been making her more confused than she could ever remember being in her life. She just wasn't sure of how to deal with it all, and who ever saw the Champion ask someone for help about anything?

"Oh, is something the matter, Champion?"

Cynthia gave a start and turned to see two nurses looking at her with concern. How long had they been there?

"Ah, no I'm fine. I was just leaving. Have a good day," she said regaining her composure. Turning on the women, Cynthia made her way out of the hospital, pushing the troubling thoughts out of her mind.

XxxxX

"Miranda, that was unfair and you know it."

"...yeah...I...sorry." Miranda sat on the edge of the bed with her back to Ash. She was staring at the back of her hand while she traced one of the tattoos on it. After Cynthia had left, the room was silent for a long time. Ash didn't want to say the wrong thing, but he knew he couldn't let this slide. Miranda and Cynthia had become good friends since the outing they had had a few days ago. Though Cynthia was many years older than Miranda, who was only nineteen, she was really the first female that Miranda had looked so comfortable being around ever since he had first met her in her home. He didn't want to see that friendship fail.

"Miranda-" Ash started, but was interrupted by Miranda.

"I'm sorry alright?" she snapped glancing at him over her shoulder. Ash fell silent. "Ahhhh." Miranda drew her legs up to her chest and put her forehead to her knees. "Now I'm shouting at you even though you didn't do anything." She turned her head so that she could see him out of one eye. "When I saw you get hit, I didn't know what to do. You are strong, but you were still recovering; you have Gardevoir but she didn't block the attack; I wanted to make sure you were okay but I couldn't reach you. I thought you might have... I mean I know you couldn't have from something like that but still I..." She stopped speaking and Ash saw that she was crying. Seeing this, Ash began to sit up fully. However, Miranda moved very quickly from her position directly at Ash. Before he knew what had happened, he was on his back again staring straight up into Miranda's face. She was pinning his shoulders against the bed with her hands and her knees were on either side of his waist.

"It took me too long to get down to the arena entrance where the medics where. You had already been taken away to a hospital to be treated, but none of the people would tell me where you had gone. It took so long to find you..." Ash didn't move; he just listened. "That whole time I was running all over the place because I still don't know the city very well at all, I was scared of what I would find when I did get to you." Miranda squeezed her eyes shut then opened them. A few tears fell onto Ash's face.

"Miranda," said Ash, brushing a tear from her face, "I'm not going anywhere."

"It's not about you going places, its about me coming with you," came her soft voice.

"One moment together is more meaningful than a lifetime apart," said Ash after a minute.

Pushing herself up slightly so that she could meet his eyes, Miranda said dryly, "Oh? And what person came up with that nugget of wisdom?"

"Your sister, Luna." Miranda fell silent, staring into Ash's eyes, as if trying to glean their secrets.

"I don't have a sister anymore, remember? I'm no longer a member of the village," said Miranda softly, breaking the staring contest. She looked at the window, not really seeing it.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to bring up unpleasant memories," Ash said. Miranda shook her head slightly and met Ash's eyes again.

"Don't apologize, I know you're trying to cheer me up." Miranda smiled, slowly moving her face closer to his. She continued in a voice barely above a whisper, "Plus, it's not like they are all bad memories." Ash was frozen in place from her proximity. It wasn't like they'd never been in close quarters before but this was a little... He swallowed perceptibly. Their faces were a centimeter apart when the door opened, revealing an energetic new visitor.

"Hey Ash, are you doing alright- well looks like you're busy, catch ya later."

Miranda quickly relocated herself to standing at the window, determinedly looking out of it, face bright red. Moments later, opened calmly, revealing the nurse that was taking care of Ash and the intruder from a moment ago: Brock. While the nurse looked suspiciously from Ash to Miranda, it was the third intruder, who's yellow face suddenly appeared over Brock's right shoulder, that broke the atmosphere.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu leaped off of Brock's shoulder, aiming for Ash. He landed squarely on Ash's chest, causing him to wince though he was grinning all the while.

"Girl, do you remember me saying something about him needing rest?" said the nurse, walking over to the bed and rolling her eyes. She sighed and said tiredly, "This isn't what I meant by rest." Miranda just shook her head and did her best to sink into the floor.

Turning to Ash, the nurse said, "Anyway, Ash, sit up and take off your shirt. Let's see how you're doing now. Don't be a baby, it would have come of anyway am I right?" Glancing at Miranda, if anything she probably lost consciousness right there. Evil teasing nurse.

Doing his best not to justify a single thing the nurse was teasing him about, Ash sat so that he was facing Brock who had taken a seat in the chair. "Nice of you to drop by," Ash said coolly.

"Yeah, I was going to come visit earlier, but I figured that it would be better if I came when it was quieter. Hey, don't give me that look!" Brock said quickly, "They only let me come visit because the nurse was going to check up on you anyway. It's a coincidence, I swear!" He held up his hands in innocence. Ash shrugged his shoulders after a second.

"Meh, don't worry about it," he said shortly. "I needed to talk to you anyway so this works out. Did you get any good info?" Ash absently raised his arms above his head as the nurse tapped them. Brock nodded, frowning.

"Yeah, I do have some stuff that you should know, but before that..." Brock paused, thinking for a second. "Did something happen with Cynthia earlier?" Miranda seemed to deflate even more. "I bumped into her a little before I came here. She looked somewhat off, but when I asked her what was wrong she said it was nothing and kept walking."

"Well," started Miranda, still facing the window, "We had an argument earlier- No, I mean, actually I shouted a lot of bad things at her that I really shouldn't have. I need to apologize to her about that," Miranda finished, staring at the floor.

"Oh, well I'm sure it'll be alright," Brock said with a shrug. "You two looked like you hit it off pretty well and Cynthia isn't one to hold a grudge."

"Thanks, Brock," said Miranda.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just need to say something before I go," the nurse interjected swiftly. Miranda nodded, not wanting to get on the woman's bad side any more. "Ash, you should be perfectly fine by tomorrow morning, Lord knows how, but I guess youth wins again." She chuckled and continued, "Anyway, if anything comes up don't hesitate to give us a call on the intercom."

"Thank you very much," said Ash. The nurse nodded to the others and left, closing the door behind her quietly. Ash sighed in relief. "Well, now I don't think that there will be any more unannounced guests.

Brock turned to face them, grinning at Ash and Pikachu. "Yeah," he said, "So are you going to listen to this old guy give you the info you asked for or what?"

"Right, right, let's see this bracket thing you were telling me about," said Ash. Brock moved over to his backpack, which he had placed beside the chair, and pulled out a thick wad of heavy paper. "Any trainers in particular that I should hope get sick or something?" Brock spread out the huge paper on the floor. Finally getting it flat he said,

"Well, I wouldn't really call it a bracket, but I guess that works for all intensive purposes." The three of them sat around the diagram. "I know you have questions, but just look at the results first before you ask. You'll understand why in a minute."

Ash began to read the names of the matches, frowning slightly as he focused. The names for each of the matches were written around the perimeter of the entire square. The lines that lead from the winners stopped abruptly only an inch from where they started. In fact, the most notable part of the whole thing was the fact that with the exception of the edge, the rest of the paper was practically blank. Finally regaining her composure, Miranda joined them, face still somewhat red though.

"Brock, why is it so blank? You can't tell the shape of the tournament with it like this at all," Miranda asked Brock in confusion. He looked up from the diagram and said,

"That's exactly the toughest aspect of this tournament." Brock pointed at the large empty space. "This tournament doesn't only randomly select who will battle who. Much of the rules for the battles are also done at random. For all we know, the next round could be a two on two battle instead of a single battle. Even info on trainers' Pokemon is completely withheld."

"No way..."

Brock and Miranda both looked at Ash. The shock on his face was quite plain.

"Brock, is this all correct? No, forget I said that. You wouldn't make a mistake on something like this," Ash said giving Brock an apologetic look.

"I could have just told you this, but seeing it all at once really helps make the situation clear," he explained.

"What is it, Ash?" asked Miranda.

"Well, looking at this, even though there is still another two days for the first round..." he broke off into silence for a few seconds then shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "Sorry, I lost my train of thought for a bit there. Anyway, getting right to it, well over half the gym leaders and Elite Four members have lost." Ash was looking at Miranda with a serious look as he said this; Miranda however was completely nonplussed.

"...and that's big news...how?" she said, clearly unimpressed. Ash stared at her blankly. "Look, I may not have had the most modern upbringing, but I'm not ignorant. I can understand the Elite Four being worth note here, but haven't all the gym leaders already lost to practically everyone who is competing at some point in the past?" Miranda was giving Ash a look that clearly was telling him to get smarter.

"Well, when you put it that way..." Brock said thoughtfully. Miranda smiled and nodded triumphantly. "But, you should know Miranda that gym leaders are just as much Pokemon trainers as their challengers. They train, learn, and grow stronger all the time. In fact, you could definitely say that gym leaders battle at least as much as traveling Pokemon trainers, seeing as how gyms are challenged on average about once a day. I would know. I used to be a gym leader myself."

_'Thank you, Brock.'_ Ash gave Brock a grateful pat on the shoulder and said to Miranda, "So you see, I need to be careful. It's true that I battled them all before, but that was so long ago that it would be really bad if I tried to rely on any info I have of them already. And it just goes to show that all the gym leaders that did make it through are going to be tough to handle."

Miranda shrugged and said, "I guess you make a good point." Now looking at the paper, she asked, "What about the Battle Frontier people? Did they all win?"

Brock pointed to a couple of names and said, "Well, the five that have had battles already have all won. Brandon and Anabel both have their battles tomorrow."

"I'm definitely going to watch those two battle," said Ash energetically. "Who knows how tough they've gotten after all these years. Brandon especially. He's a fierce opponent, even without his Pokemon." He looked out the window into the evening sky.

_'This is better than I could have hoped for. The stronger the opponents, the harder the crowd will cheer when I beat them. No matter what, I will win this!'_

"Ash...? Hey, Ash?"

"Don't bother, Brock. Whenever he spaces out like that it's too much trouble to get his attention. Anyway, he's probably just reaffirming his beliefs or something like tha-"

Ash threw his pillow at her.

XxxxX

"It's been a long day of battling in Element City, and now I'm here once again with Scott, Chairman of the PTO, who I hope will share much with us tonight."

Scott- "It's good to be here, Tania; thanks very much."

Tania- "Well, I must say, today was very eventful. I know that many of our viewers are eager to hear what you have to say on the main incident, but before we address that, why don't you tell us what you think of the battles so far. Have they been everything you hoped they could be?"

Scott- "That and more, Tania. I've said it again and again. This tournament is clearly becoming the stage for some of the most incredible Pokemon battles I'm sure anyone has ever seen in their life. Every trainer in the world has a unique battle style that develops after countless battles. Now, we are able to see the best of the best clash on a global scale. It's exciting just thinking about it."

Tania- "On a different note, a good portion of the Gym Leaders and even some Elite Four members have been defeated during this round. There has been some chatter that many of the Gym Leaders should not really have been entered in the first place as they are not at the "top" of the Pokemon Leagues. What is your response to that?"

Scott- "A good point and I'm glad you brought it up. It is easy to picture Gym Leaders as "less than the best" because first, many of them must be defeated by a trainer for entry into the League Conference, and second, because many many trainers do compete in the Conferences. One would think that Gym Leaders cannot be among the best because they are beaten so many times. But this cannot be further from the truth. You see, in looking at the Conferences from the past few years, there is a definite increase in the number of trainers that register to take the gym challenge." Taking a breath he continued.

"You also have to understand that for every one trainer that wins a gym battle there are dozens who do not. Also, from the battles at the Conferences, we can see that trainers are getting better overall. The Gym Leaders, who become the wall that all must overcome, consistently get better after being challenged by so many diverse trainers. This pushes that wall even higher, building stronger trainers, who build stronger Gym Leaders."

Tania- "A cycle of growth, then."

Scott- "Precisely. And, when considering the fact that a number of Gym Leaders won their first round battles in very dominating fashions, it shows that potential and skill cannot be measured simply by position."

Tania- "Well put, Scott. Surely a proper reminder to all trainers out there. Now finally, I'd like to discuss the incident that occurred around noon today in the main stadium...

xxx

"Damn, did you see that?"

"That trainer got blasted. Full power!"

"Yeah but he was standing, just like some hero out of a movie."

"I know, he looked so cool!"

"Hmmm. I don't know why, but that somehow looks familiar..." Nel said to herself, absently avoiding the excited kids who were running around after watching the TV in the shop window. The news report had shown multiple images of the battle while it was discussed. Ash's face popped up a few times before the report ended. Nel had stared at the screen in wonder.

"So strange, he looks like someone I know. Or at least, someone I think I know... Ah I can't remember at all." Confused she scratched her head, causing her loose braid to come undone again. She sighed and looked at the sky. It was going to get late soon and she needed to find a place to stay, but with Salamance resting in his pokeball from flying so much and tall buildings surrounding her, Nel felt at a loss of what to do. She hadn't come to cities like this in over a couple years after all. Saffron City was so large... A large rumble from her middle made her look down at her belly. "I'm hungry."


End file.
